


Be my Forever

by Aleigh75



Series: After the Fade [2]
Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: AU-ish after 'Not Fade Away', F/M, What Was I Thinking?, semi canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-04-11 21:46:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 44,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19118326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aleigh75/pseuds/Aleigh75
Summary: Takes place a few weeks after "Not Fade Away." Companion story to "Coming to their Senses"...Dawn's perspective of what happens after Spike brings Angel to Rome, looking for help.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is the longer side of a pair of stories I wrote absolutely ages ago (at least 12 years ago...I think it was not long after Angel ended). I don't really like the whole Dawn/Spike pairing anymore, to be honest, but I wanted to move all my stories to one site, and this was over on AFFN. I moved the other part, "Coming to their Senses" over here a few weeks ago, but this one is much longer and had a really annoying glitch with most of the punctuation having been changed to black diamonds, so it took me a while to fix it. Anyway, I've finished editing it as much as I can stand to, so it shouldn't take long to post the whole thing...
> 
> I suck at titles, so the title is from the Christina Perri song, which I ended up listening to a lot while replacing those damn little black diamonds. ;)

Chapter 1

Dawn happily settled down in the huge, comfy bed of the hotel room she’d secretly reserved weeks earlier to celebrate her official entrance into adulthood. She was finally finished with high school; and in a few short months, she would be done with Rome, and the altogether unfriendly Italian teenagers who infested the damn place. The last obstacle, her tedious graduation ceremony, had finally ended half an hour ago, and now she was ready for a night of relaxation. Buffy and Xander thought she was safely ensconced at the home of an imaginary friend, Isabella. Room service goodies were scattered over the warm, fluffy down comforter, and she was just reaching for a huge ice cream sundae in a glass bowl nearly the size of her head, when her cell phone rang.

“Dammit! Can’t they survive even one night without me?” she muttered, setting the gargantuan dessert back on the nightstand and hunting under the covers for the phone. One night. She had finally found a good excuse to get away from her sister and Xander for  _ one  _ night; hoping that maybe, just maybe they’d get a clue about their feelings for each other and  _ do _ something about it, hopefully before one of them finally cracked from the stress of worrying about what would happen when Buffy and Dawn moved to London in the fall. Both of them had been moping around and snapping at everyone over the stupidest things, like shrinking a borrowed silk shirt in the wash or accidentally walking in on someone naked, for weeks now. “Can’t you survive one night without me?” she snapped into the mouthpiece, after she finally located the elusive phone, tucked into the pocket formed by the sheets at the foot of the bed. Sometimes she swore the damn thing had legs! If Rome were on a Hellmouth, she’d have bet money the thing had crawled down there on purpose.

“Dawnie?” Xander’s voice sounded kind of strange, and she immediately dropped the attitude.

“Oh God. Who died?” She gasped. “It’s...it’s not-”

“No! No, we’re fine! No major injuries, nothing a little vamp spit couldn’t fix anyway,” he let out a rather strained sounding laugh, followed by a distinct sort of sloshy/gulping sound.

Vamp spit? What the...? “Are you  _ drinking _ ?” Dawn demanded, staring at the phone confusedly. “Where’s Buffy? Let me talk to her.”

Xander laughed again, “Oh! Sorry. It’s just orange juice. I’m down about a pint at the moment, but that’s not why I called. Really, everything is okay, and I know you’re having fun with all your friends, but we wanted to let you know right away...” Xander paused to take a breath, and Dawn realized she was holding hers.

“What is it?!” She begged. She was sure he was drawing out the suspense on purpose, to torture her. “Quit jerking me around, dammit!”

“Take it easy!” Xander chuckled. “Look, I know it sounds crazy, but, Spike showed up here tonight!”

“The First?!” Dawn gasped, cupping her hand over her mouth.

“No!” Xander rushed to reassure her. “He’s not the First.”

“Are you sure?” Dawn felt her eyes welling with tears, and fought for control. “I mean, did you...could you guys touch him?”

“Yup. Very corporeal. He helped bandage up my knuckles, after he stopped the bleeding, actually...which was a world of ick, lemme tell ya!”

“Your knuckles were bleeding? Did you hit him?! Xander!” Dawn scolded. “I can’t believe you’d hit him after what he did for us!” She paused, frowning. “Wait...did he fake that whole ‘Champion-dying-to-save-the-world’ thing? Cuz, if he did, I’m gonna hit him myself!”

Xander interrupted her, “Dawn, I didn’t hit him, and I don’t know what happened with him. He’s got Angel with him, and they must be pretty beat, because he needed Buffy to help carry Deadboy upstairs. I figured you’d want to know he’s back right away.” Dawn decided to ignore the muttered “...or we’d never hear the end of it.” that followed.

“You figured right!” Dawn smiled. The shock was wearing off, and slowly being replaced by a bubbling feeling of joy. The tears she’d managed to suppress ever since the vampire’s death finally escaped her, pouring over her cheeks and dripping from her chin. “Listen, I’ll be home as soon as possible!”

“Dawn, you don’t have to leave your friends. It’s your big day-” Xander began.

“Xander, I don’t  _ have _ any friends here,” Dawn cut him off, the painful secret she’d been hiding for over a year slipping out unnoticed in her excitement. “I just want to see him. I’m coming home!” With that she flipped the phone shut, ending the call.


	2. Chapter 2

Sixteen minutes later, Dawn leaped from a still-moving cab, flung a wad of crumpled up bills at the amused looking driver, and raced up the eight flights of stairs to the apartment she shared with her sister and Xander. She ignored the shouts of “Signorina! Questo  è  cinquanta Euro!  I drove you only three blocks! Voi pagare troppo!”

As she struggled to get her trembling fingers to put the key in the lock, the door slowly opened from the inside. “Where’s...’ Dawn began, then looked up and gasped. “Spike!”

The blond vampire smiled almost shyly, but held his arms open invitingly, and Dawn threw herself into them without hesitation. “You went out in the streets of Rome  _ at night _ in your socks and pjs?” He asked incredulously, holding her away from him for a moment and looking her over.

Dawn looked down at her white baby doll tee and pink flowered pajama pants, then shrugged sheepishly. “I couldn’t wait to see you.” After a moment he laughed and pulled her back into his arms. Dawn clung tightly to him as he kicked the door shut behind them and lowered his head to her shoulder, his face turned into her neck; which she knew should probably give her the wiggins, but she just didn’t care. Burrowing her face into  _ his _ neck in return, she began sobbing shamelessly. For the first time since his death, nearly a year before, she finally released all the pent up grief it had caused her. 

After a few minutes, she finally managed to bring her breathing somewhat under control, and slowly pulled back to look at him. Spike raised his head, and she realized for the first time that she hadn’t been crying alone. His eyes were red rimmed, almost raw-looking, and the usual cocky, swaggering persona he liked to put on was completely gone. Instead he looked frail...wasted. He looked  _ dead _ for the first time she could remember. Had he even looked this broken when Buffy died?

“What did they do to you?” She growled, hugging him fiercely.

“I-I’ll be alright,” Spike whispered into her shoulder.

“Are you trying to convince  _ me _ or  _ yourself _ ?” Dawn asked, hugging him tighter for a minute before stepping back, grabbing his hand, and leading him into the living room. “Where are Buffy and Xander? He said his hand was bleeding...is he okay?” She asked, looking around the conspicuously empty room.

Spike slumped into Xander”s favorite chair and pointed vaguely in the direction of the girls’ bedrooms. “I don’t know what happened, exactly, but there’s a broken window and some blood in the kitchen. Nurse Buffy seems to be giving her patient some ‘extra special’ TLC. Soon’s we got Angel settled in Xan’s bedroom, she went back there to ‘check on him’. Actually, I’d really  _ love _ to be able to say I  _ haven’t _ heard from them since then.” He grimaced slightly, then smirked. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to see she’s over that bloody stupid business with the Immortal, but a bloke really,  _ really _ doesn’t need to hear his friends going at it like that!” He finished, with just a trace of his old mischievous self showing in his expression.

Dawn stared at him, wide eyed, then tiptoed toward the hallway, where she didn’t have to listen for long to confirm that her sister and their roommate had finally come to their senses. “Geez, they’re going to get us thrown out of the building!” She muttered, rushing back to the living room with a mildly embarrassed expression on her face.

“Tell me about it,” Spike chuckled. “I hope you haven’t been trying to pass Harris off as your gay friend to get the landlord to let him stay here. ‘Cuz that story just ain’t going to fly anymore, unless the super’s deaf.”

“Huh?” Dawn frowned, missing the reference entirely.

“Never mind, Dawn,” Spike smiled kindly. “I think that show was a bit before your time.” Just then he cringed at a loud male groan that even Dawn could hear, and said, “Um, I’d better go check on Angel.”

“Can I come?” Dawn asked, eager to get further away from her sister’s bedroom. When he nodded she got up and followed him toward Xander’s bedroom, “So, what happened to you guys? You look like you’ve been through-” She left off abruptly.

“Hell? Not quite. But a little too close for comfort,” Spike shuddered, absently fingering the edges of a large tear across the stomach of his filthy black t-shirt.

As the two walked slowly toward Xander’s bedroom Dawn reluctantly asked, “Did you...did you really die? In Sunnydale I mean. Buffy said you did, and obviously you did something huge to close the Hellmouth and all, but...”

“But I’m here now, and it doesn’t make any sense?” Spike scoffed. “Right there with ya, Bit. Either someone up there likes me, or else they  _ really _ like fucking me over.” he cringed. “Messing with me,” he amended quickly.

“Relax,  _ Spikey _ ,” Dawn grinned. “I’m 18 years old, it’s not like I haven’t heard it all before. I’m old enough to vote, and drink, and everything.” She winked. “Here anyway.”

Spike nodded thoughtfully. “That’s right”I forgot...your birthday was a few weeks ago, wasn’t it?”

“Try a month or so,” she giggled.

“You’re kidding! This is May, right?” Spike asked, looking confused. 

“It’s June, Spike!” Dawn frowned. “Are you sure you’re okay?” She stopped outside Xander’s bedroom, and looked worriedly at the blond vampire. 

Spike sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes. “Okay as I ever was.” he muttered, pushing open the door and slipping quietly into the dimly lit room.

Dawn followed quickly, closing the door in hopes of blocking out any additional noises from the couple at the far extreme of the apartment. When she finally turned and looked at the vampire on the bed, she let out a horrified gasp and cupped her hand over her mouth. The smell of burnt flesh suddenly filled her nostrils, and she struggled to fight back a wave of nausea as she scrambled to open the door. She tried to make a run for the nearby bathroom, but failed miserably. Dropping to her knees, she dry-heaved violently in the middle of the hallway. A small part of her mind observed gratefully that it was a good thing she hadn’t gotten a chance to eat her pile of junk food back at the hotel. The majority of her brain was too busy screaming in horror over Angel’s condition. She was only dimly aware when Spike pulled her to her feet and ushered her into the living room.

“G-god! Th-that couldn’t be-that  _ thing _ wasn’t really A-Angel, was it?” She whimpered into his neck, as he pulled her onto his lap in the armchair and began stroking her hair soothingly.

“I’m sorry, Dawn. I shouldn’t have...I wasn’t thinking. I’ve gotten used to it I guess. Took us so long to get over here...longer than I thought...” Spike mumbled.

“What  _ happened _ to him? He looks like...I mean...shouldn’t he be  _ dust _ ?” Dawn shuddered. Suddenly she froze. “Buffy  _ saw _ him like that, and she’s in there screwing Xander? What the hell is wrong with her?!” She demanded angrily.

“Calm down, Bit,” Spike calmed her, wrapping his arms more tightly around her when she tried to stand up. “Your big sis didn’t see him like that. I had him wrapped up in blankets, and she just helped me carry his feet. He was asleep, and I didn’t want to wake him up...he needs his rest. So, she doesn’t know how bad he’s hurt.” 

“Why didn’t you tell her?” Dawn frowned, confused.

“I could tell I walked in on something in Buffy’s room. Could tell from the smell of the place that it was something  _ new _ ,” He gave her a little smirk. “I didn’t want to wreck their big moment.” He shrugged.

“Eww Spike! How many times do we have to tell you? That smelling people thing is  _ gross _ ,” Dawn made a face and pulled away from him. “Hey...how did you ‘walk in on them’? Don’t you need an invite?” She asked suspiciously.

Spike winced. “Uh, well, I did...the first time I was here.” He admitted meekly. “I was here with Angel a few months ago. Andrew invited us in.”

“Andrew knows you’re alive, and he didn’t tell us!” Dawn screeched, jumping out of his lap, and pacing back and forth. “I’m so going to kill that little...” Glaring at Spike, she yelled, “What the hell else has been going on that I don’t know about?! Is Angel evil again? I heard Buffy say that Giles wouldn’t have anything to do with Angel because he was working for some evil law firm-” 

“Whoa! Calm down, Dawn!” Spike reached out and snagged her wrist as she stormed past him for the tenth time in as many seconds. “Sit!” he ordered, pulling her back down on his lap. Recognizing that she was near hysterics after seeing the severity of Angel’s burns, he wrapped his arms around her, and began purring, and rubbing her back comfortingly. After a brief struggle, Dawn went limp, and collapsed against his chest. “Shh, that’s it,” he murmured, gently kissing her forehead, “It’s okay.”

“Just tell me what happened. What’s going on?” Dawn whimpered quietly.

“You want the short ‘How Angel got nearly everyone killed trying to take down the evil lawyers’ version, or the longer ‘How Spike came back from the dead, and then Angel got nearly everyone killed trying to take down the evil lawyers’ version?” Spike asked, continuing to gently rub her back and giving her a small smirk when she peeked up at him.

“Is there a medium version?” she asked after a brief pause.

“Ah, the medium version,” Spike nodded. Looking thoughtfully at the ceiling, as if he had kept a diary there for the last year, he began ticking item off on his fingers as he spoke. “Let’s see...went in the Hellmouth wearing the Liberace reject amulet...there was light, and my soul burned...the ubervamps dusted... _ I _ dusted...and, I assume, the Hellmouth closed for good.” 

“Did it hurt?” Dawn asked in a small voice. He didn’t answer, but the clenching of his jaw muscles told her all she needed to know. She reached up and sadly caressed his cheek. “I’m sorry.” She whispered.

“Don’t be. You lot made it out okay, and that’s all that matters,” he replied, in a tone that made it clear he was  _ not _ going to be dragged into a deeper discussion of the events in the Hellmouth the year before. “Anyway, about three weeks after that, a package showed up at Evil Lawyers R Us, addressed to Peaches-” He winced suddenly. “Addressed to Angel. Turned out, it was the amulet, and when he opened it, I popped out. Kind of reverse dusted. Then, I was some kind of ghost for a few months.” he sighed.

“A ghost?” Dawn, momentarily getting caught up in the story, began to relax and leaned against him, getting more comfortable. She settled in with her cheek resting against his shoulder and asked, “What was that like? Did you get to haunt anybody? Were they all scared of you?”

Spike snickered, “I was a bit like Patrick Swayze. Couldn’t touch anything, spent most of my time trying to annoy people into helping me. Faced down some dark forces trying to suck me into hell...”

“And you were so ruggedly handsome that all the other ghosts were jealous?” Dawn contributed with a playful wink. Spike looked at her oddly, and she quickly asked, “Did you try to contact Buffy, but she couldn’t see you?”

“No,” Spike sighed sadly. “Being visible wasn’t my problem. I even learned to manipulate objects after a while. But I was bound to that damn amulet, so I couldn’t leave LA. And I really did nearly get dragged into Hell.” 

“Oh God, I thought you were kidding about that part!” Dawn gasped, unconsciously grabbing his arm.

“I wish,” Spike shuddered.

“So, how did you get all...touchable again?” Blushing slightly, Dawn finally noticed her hand on his forearm, and gave it a gentle squeeze before letting go.

“Well, someone, we’re assuming it was the same someone who mailed the amulet to Pe-Angel in the first place, sent  _ me _ a package after a couple of months. When his secretary opened it for me...Poof. Nifty little light show, and good ol’ Spike was back among the...solid.” He shrugged.

“Well, why didn’t you come to see us then?” Dawn gave him a dirty look, and waited expectantly.

Spike shrugged sheepishly, very uncomfortable under the brunette’s fiery glare. “I wanted to, but...well...the truth is I got caught up in a pissing contest with Peaches. Got a lot of issues there. Both of us wanted to be the  _ best _ damn vampire with a soul. Well, he wanted to be the  _ only _ one, because of this stupid prophecy. I just wanted to win so  _ I _ could take something  _ he _ wanted for once.” he sighed.

“Like Buffy?” Dawn asked quietly. “You were really in love with her.” It came out as more of a statement of fact than a question, and Spike nodded slightly.

“I-I was. I mean, I do still love her, in a way. She’s one of the few people to ever really believe in me,” he sighed sadly, and Dawn opened her mouth to protest. “Dawn, luv, I  _ know _ you’re the other one. You were the first.” He smiled at her fondly, then continued his explanation. “I’ve gained some perspective lately. I don’t think it ever could have worked out with us. Too much bad history between us. I know I’m not the one who can make her really, truly happy, and vice versa.” He sighed again, and Dawn gave him a reassuring hug. “It’s all right, Bit. I’ve come to terms with it, and I’m just glad she’s finally happy.”

As if to emphasize his point, there was a sudden burst of very energetic screaming from the direction of Buffy’s bedroom, and they both snickered embarrassedly. “Wanna go mess with them?” Dawn asked with a mischievous grin.

“No, I really should go check on Angel. Try to get him to take some blood,” Spike smiled warmly at her. “You go ahead and give them hell, though.” He encouraged her, helping her stand up before they headed their separate ways down the apartment’s long central hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, "Not Fade Away" aired 5/19/2004, and I don't know exactly why the hell it would take them like 2 weeks to get from LA to Rome, or how Angel would have not healed after all that time. There is actually even more of a problem with it having been that long, but...spoilers. Either way, I feel like I need to point out again that this is one of my very first completed fanfics, written about 12 years ago, and apparently I wasn't big on the making sense back then. lol 
> 
> Also, I don't speak Italian at all, so I'm taking Google Translate's word that the taxi driver said "This is 50 Euro," and "You paid too much."


	3. Chapter 3

Dawn tiptoed to her sister’s doorway and listened for a moment. Hearing absolute silence on the other side of the door, she began knocking quietly. After getting no response, she began knocking louder and louder, until she finally grew impatient, not to mention just a  _ little _ worried. “Buffy?! Are you okay in there?” She yelled. “Xander?! Are you guys alright?!” Pressing her ear to the door she thought she heard soft, muffled voices, and began knocking even more loudly. “If you guys don’t answer I’m gonna make Spike knock this door down!” She threatened. “You don’t have to come out, I just want to know if you’re okay! I’m  _ pretty _ sure those were just ‘good sex’-ish type screams, but now you’re starting to scare me...” She added, trying to sound innocent and concerned, then clapped her hand over her mouth to muffle her delighted giggles.

“Go  _ away _ !” Buffy hollered suddenly, sounding very annoyed. 

“Sheesh! Rude much? You should be glad I was concerned enough to check on you. What if you had been attacked by sucubuses...succubae...sex demons or something?” Dawn yelled back, shooting for indignant, but afraid her amusement was fairly obvious. Biting the side of her hand, she tried desperately not to burst out laughing.

“ Then you would probably still be ruining some really good afterglow, you brat! ” Xander yelled, laughing softly. 

Hearing him sound so relaxed and happy, Dawn could no longer contain her glee. Jumping up and down, she squealed loudly, “Oh thank god! You two  _ finally _ wised up!” Suddenly, she remembered something. “Hey, what time is it? If it’s before midnight I win the pool!” After checking her watch she squealed again. “11:18! I  _ love _ you guys! $782 is going to come in really handy when I go shopping for school with Willow next month!” Thank god Spike was here to confirm the timing. Forty-two more minutes, and the money would have gone to Faith.”

“There’s a  _ pool _ ?” Buffy bellowed angrily. “Who else was in on it?” She asked, sounding really pissed. Dawn cringed, but then she heard Xander say something, and when Buffy spoke again, she sounded like a very content kitten. “Dawnie?”

“Yeah?” Dawn asked, playing dumb to draw out their torment.

“Unless-ah!” Buffy started, then scolded. “Xander, stop that for a minute!” 

Once again, Dawn nearly bit through her lip trying to keep from laughing. They were so cute!

“Unless you want to be traumatized for life, you’d better step away from that door!” Xander finished for Buffy, who was now moaning softly.

Suddenly, teasing them lost its appeal. “Ewwww!” Dawn shrieked. It was bad enough hearing them from the living room, but no way was she sticking around outside their door for the encore. She bolted for the living room as fast as her feet could carry her, slipping and sliding on the hardwood floor in her frantic attempt to get out of hearing distance as soon as humanly possible. Rounding the corner, she skidded to a stop in front of the sofa, but Spike was nowhere to be seen. Even worse, she could already hear a few loud moans coming from the apparently insatiable duo down the hall. 

Biting her lip, she decided to join Spike in Xander’s room. Now that she knew what to expect, she was sure she could handle seeing poor Angel for a few minutes. Not to mention, if Spike had been taking care of his Sire all by himself for several weeks, he could probably use some help at this point. Her mind made up, she turned and quickly walked to the other end of the apartment. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and slipped back into the darkened room.

Spike was lying on the bed beside Angel, holding his wrist over the other vampire’s dry, cracked lips. “Please, Sire, you have to drink if you’re going to get better!”

Dawn felt her chest tighten painfully at the sorrow and panic on the blond vampire’s face. “Spike?” She whispered. “Is there anything I can do to help?” 

Startled, Spike looked up at her, then sighed and shook his head. “I don’t think so.” He murmured sadly. “He won’t feed from me, that’s why he’s not healing.”

“Why won’t he feed from you?” Dawn asked, sitting down on the other side of the bed and gazing sadly at the older vampire. 

To her surprise, Angel was the one to answer her question, “Spike’s sick,” he replied, his pain filled voice barely audible. She’d thought he was still asleep, but now she realized his eyelids were burned, just like the rest of his face; he  _ couldn’t _ open them, and her heart ached for him. “Doesn’t taste right. Needs to heal.”

“Bloody hell, Angel! We’ve been over this. You’re hurt much worse than I am, you git!” Spike growled. “I fed really well today on that cattle truck. Just drink, will you?”

Dawn looked questioningly at Spike, and he smiled reassuringly at her.

“No,” Angel groaned. “I can taste it-” He coughed violently, and Dawn cringed, almost feeling his pain herself. Every visible inch of the vampire was covered in raw, nasty looking burns. “I can taste the venom in your blood, Will,” he whispered finally. “You’re not getting any better.”

“What venom?” Dawn demanded, looking sharply at Spike, who immediately lowered his head to avoid her gaze.

“D-dragon,” Angel murmured, turning his head slightly toward Dawn for the first time. “Dawn?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” Dawn smiled at him reassuringly, then felt like a complete moron when she remembered he couldn’t see her. “Spike’s been bitten by a dragon?” she asked him worriedly. “Is that what happened to  _ you _ ?”

“Not exactly,” he whispered, tried to shrug, and then winced. “We were-” he began, before another coughing fit wracked his body. Dawn closed her eyes, unable to bear the sight of him in such pain.

Spike finally seemed to pull himself together. Looking up at Dawn he muttered, “We bit off a bit more than we could chew, Pet.” When she opened her eyes he explained. “When we took on Wolfram and Hart, we managed to cut off their link to their representatives in this dimension. But they fought back. Sent an army of demons after the few of us that were still standing. Wesley and Gunn are dead. Fred...er...actually the Hell god that took over her body, is dead. Angel and I are the only ones that survived this long. But I don’t know if we’re going to make it. We should have healed by now.” His voice cracked on the last sentence, and he let out a choked sob.

Dawn’s eyes filled with tears. She couldn’t lose her best friend again; not when she just finally got him back. She’d told herself many times over the past year that if she could turn back time, she would have told him how much she loved him, and how much she missed him when he was in Africa. That she forgave him for everything that happened with Buffy. There was  _ no _ way she was letting him give up without a fight now. “Why? You’re vampires! You just need more blood, right?!” Clenching her jaw determinedly, she held out her wrist. “You can have some of mine! It’s human, it’ll help! Right?”

She expected Spike to refuse, no arguments accepted. To her immense surprise and relief, he looked quickly at Angel and said, “Give it to  _ him _ . He needs it more.”

“No,” Angel muttered angrily.

“It’s human blood, you stupid git,” Spike growled. “She’s right, it’ll help more than the crap we’ve been feeding on!”

Angel sighed heavily. Turning toward Dawn, he asked, “Are you sure you want to do this Dawnie?”

Nodding quickly, she moved closer and held her wrist in front of his mouth. “Please...you need it. I trust you.” She smiled encouragingly at him.

“What about Buffy?” He asked uncertainly. “She might get mad if you-”

“It’s not Buffy’s decision to make,” Dawn stated firmly. “My mind is made up. Go ahead. I trust you.” She repeated again, her voice coming out sounding almost like a low growl.

Angel’s chest hitched slightly at her words, but he immediately morphed into game face, letting out a slight whine as the change pulled at the burns on his face. Taking a deep, unneeded breath, he reached out, and gently took Dawn’s hand when she touched his fingers. Dawn tried not to flinch as he brought her wrist to his mouth, opened as wide as he could, and carefully pierced her flesh with his fangs. To her surprise, it didn’t hurt much. After the initial pinching sensation, her wrist just felt warm. As Angel began slowly drawing blood from the wound, he began moaning softly. Looking up at Spike, she saw that he was in game face and staring at her strangely. The longer Angel drank, the louder he moaned. “Oh God!” She gasped, looking back down at Angel, who was feeding slowly, an almost blissful expression on what was left of his face. She tried not to shift around too much, but couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable.  Seriously...how good could she possibly taste?

“That’s  _ enough _ Sire!” Spike growled suddenly. Whipping her head back up to look at him, she saw that he was still staring intently at her, his nostrils flaring. Ignoring him, Angel sucked hard on her wrist, and Spike’s nostrils flared again. It suddenly hit her that the noises Angel was making were less, “Yummy dinner!” and more “Softcore Porno.”

_ Eww _ ?!

“Angel, stop!” She blurted. At her words, he immediately retracted his fangs, and licked the two punctures shut. Letting out a soft sigh, he smiled briefly, and immediately appeared to fall asleep. Too embarrassed to look at Spike, Dawn traced her finger across an unburned strip of skin on Angel’s chin, being careful not to touch, then rose, and left the room. As soon as she reached the hallway a wave of dizziness crashed over her, and she realized Angel had taken a lot more blood than she thought. Leaning heavily on the wall, she slowly made her way to the kitchen. As she was crossing the kitchen on wobbly legs, she started to sway, and let out a shriek when a cool arm suddenly wrapped around her waist.


	4. Chapter 4

“Just sit down, luv,” Spike murmured, helping her to one of the stools at the marble topped island. “I’ll get you some juice, and maybe you can tell me where you lot keep the cookies? I know you  _ must _ have cookies, but I couldn’t find them when I looked for some for Xander earlier.” He shot her a wink before moving straight to the cabinet where they kept their glasses, and then grabbed the carton of orange juice from the fridge. After pouring her a glassful, he returned to the island and sat down beside her. “Drink up, luv. I think he took a bit too much, yeah?” he asked worriedly, holding the glass in front of her mouth.

With shaking fingers, Dawn reached up, and covered his hand with her own to help guide the glass to her lips. After downing the entire glass, she watched him move to refill it. This time, he placed the glass on the counter in front of her, and put his arm around her as he sat beside her. “Feeling better yet?” he asked softly, rubbing her back.

“Y-yeah,” Dawn murmured, lost in thought. She had to have been mistaken about the way Angel reacted to feeding from her. It was just...ookie.

“It’s normal, you know,” Spike said suddenly, apparently reading her mind. “When vamps aren’t trying to kill someone, sometimes the bite can be a little, uh...exciting. It’s not anything you did, and nothing for you to be embarrassed about.” He reached up, and ran his fingers through her hair, brushing it away from her face. “It was really good of you to give him some of your blood like that. He hasn’t had any human blood since...since he got hurt. I’m sure it will help him.”

“You’re not mad at me?” Dawn asked in shock. 

“Why would I be mad at you?” he asked, looking completely floored.

“Well, you were all...” she gestured absently toward his face and scrunched up her own to indicate bumpiness. “And with the growling...”

“Oh!” Spike smiled sheepishly, then looked down at his feet, tracing an abstract pattern on the marble floor. “Uh, no, I wasn’t mad at you. Maybe just a little jealous.” He peeked up at her shyly through his eyelashes, and Dawn’s heart skipped a beat.

Her heart beating wildly, Dawn quickly changed the subject. “W-what about the dragon venom? Can it really kill y-vampires?” she asked quietly.

Spike sighed. “I don’t know, Dawn.” He rubbed his forehead tiredly, and then laid his head down on the counter in front of him. “I-I think maybe it can; I can feel it burning.” His voice trailed off, and when he spoke again, it was so quietly that Dawn could barely hear him. “No matter how much blood I drink, I still feel it.” He whimpered softly, and Dawn reached out to rub his back. “It hurts,” he moaned pitifully, and his shoulders began to shake. Dawn immediately realized that the only thing that had been holding him together since he was attacked was his determination to get help for  _ Angel _ . She was afraid that now that they had made it to relative safety, he was going to fall apart.

“We can call Willow and Giles. They’ll find a way to help you!” she promised him.

“Xander already called them, luv. But I don’t know if they can help.” He sighed again and turned his head to look up at her, his eyes shining with tears. “I think Angel will be alright, though. He didn’t get bitten. Just a little cut on the arm from one of its claws, before it tried to toast him.”

“A-and you?” Dawn was almost afraid to ask.

Spike pushed himself upright and looked her in the eye before he grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and slowly pulled it up, revealing an ugly red lesion in the middle of his torso, near his solar plexus. Thick tendrils of dark red radiated from the wound, a few smaller ones reaching toward his chest, but mostly spreading down across his stomach. “It bit me...it was shaking me. Angel skewered its eye with his sword to make it let go, and that’s when it roasted him.” His expression grew dark as he remembered his role in his Sire’s injuries. “I thought for sure we were both dead right there, but Illyria came out of nowhere, and snapped the thing’s neck. I passed out, and when I finally came to, the demon army was gone, and she was dead.”

Dawn raised her horrified gaze from his wounded chest to his haggard face. “You shouldn’t have worn yourself out, bringing him over here like that. You should have called us; we would have come to get you!” she scolded him softly, even though there was nothing to be done about it now. 

“Haven’t exactly been thinking clearly.” He shrugged, pulling his shirt back down.

“When was the last time you ate?” she asked, reaching out to feel his forehead, and flinching when she realized he was slightly warm.

“Last night. We caught a ride into Rome on a cattle truck that was headed to the butcher. I did one of the cows a favor, and put her down before we got there.” He smiled slightly. “I don’t think she appreciated it much though...ungrateful wretch.”

Dawn rolled her eyes. “I’m gonna go get Buffy. You need to feed.” She took it as a bad sign when he didn’t bother to protest, and just laid his head back down on the counter when she left the room.

This time as she walked to her sister’s room, Dawn felt guilty, knowing that she was about to disturb Buffy and Xander’s evening again. Knocking softly on the door, she waited for an answer and then eased the door open a crack, muttering her thanks to whoever was listening that the couple hadn’t locked it earlier. “Buffy?” She whispered, blinking in the darkened room as she tried to make out which lump on the bed was her sister. As her eyes adjusted, she realized the larger lump lying closest to her was Xander, so she tiptoed around the foot of the bed and knelt beside her sister. “Buffy?” She whispered again, gently shaking the blonde’s shoulder.

“Gon’ kill you,” Buffy muttered, still mostly asleep.

“I know, you can kill me later, but I need your help, first,” Dawn whispered urgently. When Buffy opened one eye, and looked at her questioningly, she said, “It’s Spike. He’s pretty sick, and he needs blood.”

“Butcher,” Buffy mumbled, her eyelids dropping closed immediately.

“No, Buffy, human blood. He’s hurt  _ really _ bad. I think he might be dying, Buffy,” Dawn whimpered slightly.

“This is  _ not _ funny, Dawn,” Xander grumbled.

“No, it’s not,” Dawn agreed. “Look, I’m sorry I bugged you guys earlier, but I just found out what’s going on with them. He tried to hide it before, but they’re both hurt really bad, and Spike needs human blood,  _ now _ .”

“So, give him some of yours,” Buffy muttered sleepily, turning her head to burrow into Xander’s chest. Luckily, Xander was a lot more awake than his new girlfriend.

“You already did, didn’t you?” he asked, pointing at her wrist.

“Angel,” she confirmed, nodding her head. “And you hurt yourself earlier...bled a lot, right?” she asked him, making a mental note to find out what had happened to him once things had settled down.

“Yeah,” He sighed ruefully, and rubbed his forehead, not even noticing his missing eye patch. 

“That leaves Buffy,” Dawn pointed out. “I wouldn’t ask, but he’s in a lot of pain. I think he made it here on pure adrenaline, but it’s wearing off, and he looks like shit.”

“Do vamps even  _ have _ adrenaline?” Xander wondered out loud. Seeing Dawn’s answering glare, he shook his head slightly to clear his thoughts. Leaning over, he shook Buffy gently. “Buffy? Hon, I think you need to get up, and go feed Spike so we can sleep.” Looking up at Dawn he said, “If she does this we  _ can _ go back to sleep, right?” He grinned to let her know he was mostly kidding.

“Sure, you can do whatever you want to,” Dawn promised.

“Okay, okay,” Buffy muttered. “We’re up! We’ll be right out.” She sat up, and Dawn blushed and turned away.

“Put some clothes on!” she laughed, shielding her eyes with her hand as she made her way around the bed and back to the door. “And hurry, this is no time for nookie!”

“Party pooper!” Xander called out as she closed the door behind her. 

Dawn raced back to the kitchen, and found Spike lying on the floor beside the island. “Spike!” She rushed to his side and shook him gently. To her relief, he moaned quietly and opened his eyes. 

“Wha-” he asked blearily. “What happened?” He frowned, looking around the kitchen as he tried to sit up.

“I think you fell asleep, and fell out of your chair,” Dawn sat down beside him with her back against the island, and tugged gently on his shoulders until he laid back down with his head pillowed on her lap. “Buffy’s going to come give you some of her blood. She didn’t realize you were hurt.” She stroked his hair tenderly as she spoke, and his eyes drifted shut again. “Oops, don’t go back to sleep yet.” She lightly tapped his forehead until he opened them again. “Sorry, as soon as you eat, you can sleep, okay?”

“Mm...kay,” he mumbled, but soon closed his eyes again. Dawn sighed, and leaned over to kiss his forehead.

“You can’t die on me. I love you,’ she whispered, but he was already asleep again.

Just then, Buffy entered the kitchen with Xander, who was wearing a pair of slightly too tight pink sweatpants, as if it wasn’t at all out of the ordinary. Dawn looked at him with amusement, and decided that if the guy hadn’t picked up even the slightest bit of concern over his complete lack of fashion sense while living in  _ Italy _ , he was probably hopeless. “God, what’s wrong with him?” Buffy knelt on the floor next to Dawn, then reached up to the knife rack on the side of the island, and grabbed a small paring knife. She quickly cut into her wrist, saying, “Spike, come on. Open up and drink.” She held the wound to his lips, and he morphed into game face without opening his eyes. Her sharp intake of breath signaled his fangs penetrating her skin, and Dawn sighed with relief. 

As Spike fed, Dawn watched curiously, wondering if this bite would affect him the same way Angel’s had affected  _ him _ but Spike almost seemed to sleep through the whole thing. Buffy herself seemed to barely notice as the blond vampire slowly continued to feed. She sat with her arm held casually over his face, all of her attention on Xander, who was leaning against the island, and absently stroking her hair while they waited for Spike to drink his fill. 

After a few minutes, Buffy frowned thoughtfully at Spike, and pulled her wrist away from his mouth. He lay there with his mouth open, just as she left him. “He’s out cold.” Her nose wrinkled in confusion, and she frowned at her arm as if it could explain how a vampire could possibly fall asleep with  _ Slayer blood _ in his mouth.

“He looks like he really needs the rest,” Xander observed. “Do you think he drank enough, or should we wake him up?”

“He got quite a bit,” Buffy shrugged. “We should carry him somewhere more comfortable though.” She stood up, wobbled slightly, and grabbed Dawn’s untouched second glass of orange juice. “If we keep this up, we’re going to have to buy stock in Tropicana,” she muttered before downing the glass.

“O-okay, so, who’s gonna carry him?” Dawn laughed. “We can put him in my bed. I’ll take the sofa.” she offered, trying to ignore the slight shiver she got at the mental image of Spike in her bed.

“I’ll carry him,” Xander spoke up. “My traumatic, dizzifying blood loss was longer ago than yours.” He chuckled lightly, and Dawn grinned at Buffy, glad to see him so happy for once. He slid his arms under Spike’s back and knees and then easily rose to his feet. “Whoa. Has he been starving himself? He used to be a lot heavier.” He frowned, shifting the limp form in his arms to a more comfortable position.

“I don’t think he’s been eating enough. He was bitten by a dragon, and its venom is still in his system,” Dawn explained as they walked to her bedroom. After Xander carefully deposited the unconscious vampire on her bed, the three returned to the living room to talk.

“Is that what’s wrong with Angel, too?” Buffy asked quietly. “Dragon venom? I didn’t know they were real. Can they kill vampires?” She looked back and forth between them, her concern clearly displayed in her tight, pinched expression. 

“Um, Angel’s worse. Or maybe better,” Dawn shrugged. “The dragon tried to barbeque him. His burns are really bad, and all over. I have no idea why he didn’t dust. Spike said he hasn’t been able to feed himself. He can barely move, and he doesn’t want to drink much from Spike because of the venom in his blood.” Dawn moaned helplessly. “I got him to drink from me a bit, though. Maybe it will help.”

“Spike didn’t tell me any of this!” Buffy exclaimed angrily. Turning to Xander she said, “Why didn’t he tell me? We could have given them both blood hours ago!”

“I don’t know, honey,” He pulled her closer to him on the sofa, and wrapped his arms around her. “You know how he is, he doesn’t like to admit when he needs help.” 

“Uh, he said he could tell he was interrupting something when he first got here, and he didn’t want to bother you,” Dawn admitted quietly.

“Oh,” Buffy murmured miserably, turning toward Xander and burying her face in his chest, “I feel so horrible. Didn’t he know we would help him if he just asked?” Xander tightened his hold on her, and kissed her on the forehead before looking up at Dawn, tears trailing down his cheek.

She shrugged helplessly. After several minutes of heavy silence, she said, “You two should go back to sleep. Willow and Giles are coming, right?” She realized she hadn’t asked earlier, but she assumed they would come as soon as possible after hearing that the vampires were there.

Xander nodded. “They were catching the first available flight. They should be here by late morning,” he told her distractedly, resting his head on Buffy’s. 

“Okay, so we should all sleep, right?” Dawn asked. When neither of them moved, she stated more decisively, “We should all go to sleep now. We’ll probably need to give them more blood later.” She suddenly realized her sister had already fallen back asleep, snuggled into Xander’s arms, and she smiled warmly at them,

“You’re right,” Xander seemed to come out of his daze slightly, and scooped Buffy up in his arms. “You sure you’ll be alright on the sofa? I can sleep out here, and you can sleep with Buffy.” he offered as he stood up. 

“Like I’m getting within ten feet of  _ that _ bed,” Dawn snorted scornfully. “No thanks, you guys can go stew in your own juices. It’s safer out here.” Glancing at the sofa she grimaced, “It  _ is _ safe out here, right? You didn’t-”

“It’s fine, Dawn,” Xander chuckled. “No, er, God, I’m so not saying ‘juices.’ Crap! Whatever! I’m shutting up now and going to bed. You know where we are if you need anything.” With that he carefully carried Buffy back to bed. 

Dawn yawned, and decided to check on the vampires before going to sleep herself. Heading first for Xander’s room, she turned on a small lamp beside the bed, and gasped quietly. “Whoa!”

“I feel a little better,” Angel smiled at her, opening his eyes a tiny bit.

“You  _ look _ better,” Dawn grinned, sitting beside him on the bed, and taking his hand. His burns were already starting to close over, and the few small areas of undamaged skin seemed larger than before.

“Thank you,” he said, squeezing her hand weakly. “I didn’t want to worry Spike more than he already was, but his blood was making me feel worse. If I could have fed any other way, I swear I would have. I don’t think he realizes how serious this is.” He frowned slightly. “Having to take care of me was making him feel even worse, I think.”

“I think it gave him a reason to hold on,” Dawn told him reassuringly. “He just fell asleep in the kitchen, and then he let Buffy feed him some of her blood.” She sighed. “I promise, we’re going to do everything we can to help him, okay?”

“‘Kay,” Angel mumbled sleepily, clearly worn out just from the effort to have a simple conversation.

“Go to sleep, Angel,” Dawn blushed her hand across his cheek, feeling an odd need to mother him in his pathetic state. “I’ll take care of Spike.”

Leaving the light on, and the door open slightly, she walked quietly to her own bedroom to check on Spike. She found him lying on his side, hugging one of her pillows to his chest. Tiptoeing to the side of the bed, she carefully laid her hand on his forehead again, frowning when she felt that he was still warm. “Don’t leave me,” he murmured when she pulled her hand away.

“Spike!” She gasped, startled. “I thought you were asleep.”

“I was, but my stomach hurts,” he whimpered, and without a second thought she crawled onto the bed, and curled herself around him.

“I’ll stay,” she whispered. “I’m right here. I’ll take care of you,” she promised, leaning forward to kiss his cheek before resting her head on the pillow behind him.

“Gotta take care of Angel,” he mumbled suddenly, moving weakly to try to sit up. 

Dawn quickly threw her leg over his, and wrapped her arm around his upper body to hold him still. She frowned when it didn’t take much effort on her part to pin the vampire down. “Shh, he’s fine. I just checked on him. I think he’s feeling better, already.  _ He’s _ worried about  _ you _ .” She chuckled slightly. “And here I thought you two hated each other?”

“He’s my Sire,” Spike shrugged slightly, as if that explained it all. 

Dawn felt him relax against her, and smiled. After a few minutes, she realized he had fallen back asleep. “Vampires.” she muttered, rolling her eyes affectionately. Closing her eyes, she snuggled closer to Spike’s back and inhaled deeply, breathing in his familiar scent. Within a few minutes, she drifted off to sleep as well.


	5. Chapter 5

“Dawnie, wake up. They’re here.” 

“Unngh?” Dawn struggled to pry her eyes open as someone, who she decided must be very rude, tried to shake her awake.

“Get up. Willow and Giles are here,” The voice, which she tentatively identified as female, sounded annoyed. What was it annoyed for? It was the one being rude...

“Go away,” she muttered, rolling over and snuggling into the big, warmish thing laying next to her. It was a nice warmish thing. It just laid there, being warmish, and not trying to wake her up. It smelled good, too. It smelled like...whiskey and cigarettes? “Spike?” Suddenly, the memory of the night before came back, and Dawn was instantly wide awake. With a frightened gasp, she sat up, and leaned over him, half afraid she was going to find she’d been snuggling with a huge pile of warmish dust.

“He’s okay,” Buffy patted her back reassuringly. “He’s still awfully warm though, I don’t know if that’s a really bad thing or not.”

“Can’t be good,” Dawn said sadly, glancing over her shoulder at her older sister. She was surprised to see her fully clothed, wondered momentarily why she was surprised, and then an evil smile crossed her face when she finally remembered all of the events of the night before. “So...how was your night, Sis?”

“Shut up,” Buffy laughed, her eyes lighting up despite their current crisis.

“Buffy’s in looove,” Dawn teased. “Buffy and Xander, sitting in a tree...”

“Shh!” Buffy quietly shushed her younger sister. “You’ll wake him up!” she reminded her, pointing at Spike. “Come on, let’s go find a cure for him, and then we can hang out with Willow, and have all the girl talk you want.”

Dawn smirked and whispered, “Okay, but you’re not getting out of it once this is over. I want details!”

“Dawn! Ew! You’re my baby sister for crying out loud!” Buffy made a face as Dawn quickly began to change from her pajamas into jeans and a t-shirt.

“Not those kinds of details, perv,” Dawn said, sticking out her tongue. Buffy just giggled and stuck out her tongue in return. Dawn smiled warmly at her. “I’m glad to see you so happy,” she said sincerely. “I haven’t seen you happy since...” she trailed off, and they both glanced over at the unconscious vampire on the bed.

“Yeah,” Buffy bit her lip. “I know.”

“We’ll talk later,” Dawn frowned worriedly, wondering how her older sister felt about Spike’s sudden return from the dead. She knew her sister was truly in love with Xander, but she had been pretty devastated by Spike’s death. “Okay, I’m all set.” Plastering a broad smile on her face, she stood up, and headed out the door, eager to find out if Giles or Willow knew of anything that could help Spike.

As soon as she entered the living room, Willow swooped in and enveloped her in a huge hug. “Dawnie! Hi! Long time no see.” The redhead gushed, holding her back to look at her. “Did you grow some more? When are you going to stop doing that?!”

“Uh, any time now, I assume. I am an adult now, you know. You were at my birthday party!” Dawn grumbled, pouting slightly. When were they all going to realize she wasn’t a child anymore?

“And you’ve graduated,” Giles spoke up, as calm and British as always. “Congratulations, Dawn. I wish I could have flown in for the ceremony, but I just couldn’t get out of my meeting yesterday afternoon.” He smiled sadly, and gave her a warm hug, “I would have loved to have been there.”

“Pfft!” Dawn snorted, waving her hand in front of her face. “Don’t worry about it. It was boring anyway. Not even one teeny, tiny demon. I wanted out of there so bad, I was about to try summoning something myself, by the end.” she finished with a wink.

Years ago Giles would have gaped like a fish over a comment like that, but he merely winked back, and said, “Pixies are always good for livening things up a bit.” Catching a dirty look from Buffy, he stammered, “Not that I would condone doing any such thing!”

“Well, if Giles is done corrupting our youth, maybe you two would like to see Angel and Spike?” Buffy asked Willow, who nodded soberly.

As the group began to file out of the living room toward Xander’s room, Giles sighed, “I wish you had told us before we left that they’d been attacked by a dragon. The coven might have some kind of antidote we could have brought with us.” 

“We didn’t know,” Buffy replied. “Spike was doing his manly ‘I don’t need help from anyone’ thing, and we didn’t find out what was really going on until you two had already taken off.” She shrugged dejectedly.

“I think Angel is going to be okay soon,” Dawn spoke up, hopefully. “He looked better after I fed him last night. He told me that the venom in Spike’s blood was keeping him from healing, since he couldn’t get any healthy blood on his own.”

Willow nodded thoughtfully. “If Spike didn’t know how sick he is, he probably didn’t realize he was passing toxins on to Angel as well.”

Keeping her voice down as they stood outside Xander’s bedroom, Dawn told the others, “I don’t think Spike was thinking too clearly, anyway. He didn’t even think to call, and ask us to come get them.” 

“Well, they’re here now, and we’re going to help them both any way we can,” Giles said confidently. With that, he opened the door and entered the room. Upon seeing Angel’s burns, he quietly exclaimed, “Good Lord! You call this looking better?”

Dawn ducked under his arm, and slipped into the room. “Yeah, this is a lot better,” she confirmed, sitting on the bed beside the sleeping vampire. His burns were red, blistered and peeling heavily around the edges, but there were no longer any open sores, and the healthy areas (as healthy as dead flesh can be) were now much larger than they had been the night before. “Of course, you didn’t see how horrible he looked before...this is pretty bad, I guess.” Dawn conceded when they all looked at her in disbelief.

“If you’re going to talk about me like I can’t hear you, at least try to be nice,” Angel snickered, opening his eyes, and smiling at Dawn.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” she asked cheerfully. “You really do look much better.” 

“I feel much better, thanks to you,” he replied, reaching out, and patting her hand. “How is Spike?” he asked, looking around at the rest of the group.

Willow moved further into the room, and sat down on the other side of the bed. “What do you know about dragon venom?”

“Not much,” he admitted, with obvious frustration. “I know it’s instantly fatal to humans, and to -several species of demons. And I know it’s making Spike’s blood taste like,” His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat embarrassedly. “It’s making him taste like dust.”

“No!” All three women gasped in dismay, and Xander ducked his head, looking appalled.

“Do you know of anything that can help him?” Giles asked shortly.

“Don’t you?!” Dawn demanded impatiently.

Blatantly ignoring her, Giles repeated, “Angel, do you know of anything?” At the vampire’s questioning look he explained, “I didn’t know about the dragon, but Althenea, the head of the coven, pulled me aside at the airport, and told me that you would be able to cure him.” He smiled self deprecatingly. “She’s a gifted psychic, but I’ll be buggered if I know what she’s talking about half the time.”

“I’m sorry, Giles. I’ve never heard of any cure for dragon venom. Like I said, as far as I know, most species that are susceptible die instantly,” Angel muttered, looking defeated.

Giles nodded, and patted the vampire gently on the arm. “Try not to get too upset. That won’t do yourself or Spike any good. You need to heal.”

“I want to help him!” Angel protested. “Let me help you search for a cure.”

“Angel,” Willow leaned over, and gently touched an unburned spot on the vampire’s cheek. “There is one way you can help him.” She waited until she had his attention before continuing. “You can feed him.”

Angel stared at her blankly for a moment, then his face lit up with comprehension. “Sire’s blood.” he murmured, nodding eagerly. “I can do that.” 

“Not yet you can’t,” Buffy said admonishingly. “You need human blood. Slayer blood. Your blood won’t do him any good until you’re healthy yourself.”

Angel scowled, but nodded his assent. “You should save your blood for Spike. I think he needs it more than I do, and it’s the best thing for him, next to my blood.”

Buffy looked at Giles, who nodded affirmatively. “Okay, I’ll go see if I can get him to feed again,” she agreed. “Meanwhile, you should eat too,” she added, giving Angel a pointed look.

Angel looked ruefully at the rest of the group after Buffy and Xander left the room together. Dawn shifted deliberately toward him, and Angel shook his head. “Not you. You had your turn a few hours ago.”

“I’ll go next,” Giles offered, stepping forward. “When we’re done I’ll go call Althenea, and ask her for a less arcane clue as to what this cure might be.” He smiled wryly, rolling his eyes.

Dawn slid to the foot of the bed so Giles could sit next to Angel on the bed. After feeding from the Watcher’s wrist for a few minutes, Angel released the older (or rather, younger) man’s arm, and quickly licked the wound shut. He smiled gratefully up at him, murmuring, “Thank you, Giles.” 

Giles nodded his head brusquely. “You’re welcome, Angel.” Turning to Willow he said, “I’ll be in the living room. I want to check a few of the books I brought with me.”

“Okay,” Willow smiled warmly at him, then glanced quickly at Dawn. Turning back to Giles she said, “Tell Buffy I’ll be out in a bit.”

“Of course,” Giles smiled, and turned to Dawn. “Coming with?”

“Giles...” She rolled her eyes. “Your California years are showing.”

When Willow, Dawn, and Angel were unable to stop laughing after several seconds had passed, Giles threw up his hands in defeat, and quickly left the room, muttering something about picking up bad habits from ‘uncivilized children.’

“Are you still hungry, Angel?” Willow asked, when she was finally able to draw enough breath to speak.

“Uh, a little.” He ducked his head, looking embarrassed. “I’m sorry.”

“No! No, don’t worry, it’s fine. I was just thinking maybe we could try something.” Willow smiled reassuringly at him. “With Dawn,” she added, grinning at the younger woman.

“What kind of ‘something?’” Dawn asked, warily.

At the same time, Angel said, “But Dawn already-”

“Oh, Dawn doesn’t have to give more blood for this. I just thought maybe I could use some of her Key energy to help you heal faster.”

“What?!” Dawn asked disbelievingly. “Are you crazy? I’m not the Key anymore!”

“No,” Angel stated flatly, shaking his head. “We’re not siphoning energy from her...Key or not!”

“It won’t hurt her! I’ve done the same sort of thing before, with Buffy!” Willow interjected quickly. “After the Gnarl demon attacked me last year, I was using a healing meditation technique to grow the missing skin back, and Buffy came in. She asked if she could help somehow...lend me some of her strength.” Looking back and forth between Dawn and Angel, she smiled weakly. “One of the many things I learned after the whole Warren disaster was how to channel different types of energy from one object to another. From the earth, crystals, even water.. And from one person to another.”

“You can channel my energy into Angel, using yourself as a conduit!” Dawn gasped, immediately seeing where the witch was heading. Catching Angel staring at her like she’d grown another head, she cocked her head slightly. “I’ve been socializing with Giles pretty much all my life. I’ve picked up a thing or two!” She tossed her hair over her shoulder, and stared him down until he blinked.

“Of course you have.” Angel’s tone was a tiny bit patronizing, but he smiled apologetically at her, then turned to Willow. “You’re sure it won’t hurt her?”

“Not at all,” Willow assured at him. “We could probably drain energy from her for days, and not make a dent in the energy she has from being the Key.” She shrugged. “It’s just kind of there, and it’s not like she’s using it for anything.”

“It won’t make me disappear or something?” Dawn asked nervously. “‘Cause, you said it would, during the whole...Warren mess.” She winced guiltily at having brought that up, but she had to know.

“No, Dawnie. It won’t make you disappear. I was-” Willow trailed off, sighing miserably. “I was just trying to scare you. You’re human now, and even siphoning off your entire reserve of metaphysical energy wouldn’t change that.” Willow sighed. “I’m really sorry I made you think otherwise.”

“You were a little upset at the time,” Dawn shrugged sheepishly. “It’s okay.” Seeing that Willow looked like she was on the verge of tears, she leaned across the bed, and gave the witch a quick hug.

“Thanks,” Willow whispered, before pulling away, and taking a deep breath. “So, do you want to try it?” she asked, directing her question to both of them.

“If it’ll help him heal faster, sure,” Dawn shrugged.

“Only if you’re sure that it’s not going to hurt her,” Angel murmured, reaching out to grasp Dawn’s hand.

Dawn smiled at him briefly, then pulled her hand away as graciously as possible, trying to squelch her nervousness. “Let’s try it,” she urged, smiling encouragingly at Willow.

“It’ll be okay, you probably won’t even feel anything.” Willow patted her on the leg comfortingly. Taking Angel’s left hand in her right, and Dawn’s right in her left, she closed her eyes.

“Should we do anything?” Angel asked, looking a bit nervous himself.

“Yeah, shut up so the powerful witch can concentrate while she tries to leach energy from me!” Dawn hissed at him irritably, already beginning to regret going along with this.

“Uh, there is that.” Willow nodded sheepishly at Angel. “Just close your eyes, and try to relax, guys.”

Dawn shifted her weight, getting more comfortable on the bed, and tried to take deep, cleansing breaths. She was just about to ask if Willow had started yet when she noticed a strange tingling feeling growing in her abdomen. The sensation spread, moving up her chest, into her right shoulder, and then down her arm to her hand, where it seemed to flow into Willow’s hand. After a few minutes, she heard Angel moan. 

“God!” Hearing Angel’s sharp cry, Dawn opened her eyes, and stared at him in wonder. She could actually see his burns slowly healing as she watched, transfixed. Just then, he opened his eyes and smiled at her. Feeling like she’d been caught cheating on a test, she blushed, and quickly closed her eyes. To her surprise, he grasped her hand again, and began idly stroking the back with his thumb, sending warm tingles up her arm. 

“Stop that! You’re sending all the energy right back into Dawn!” Willow ordered with a giggle, not opening her eyes.

“But Mo-oom!” Angel mock whined, and Dawn’s eyes shot open again. A quick glance at Angel confirmed he had a rather self-satisfied smirk on his face. Which, when she thought about it, was an amazing achievement, considering his face looked a lot like a side of overcooked bacon. When he caught her looking again, grinned and gave her hand a playful squeeze. Dawn found herself staring dazedly at him. “Maybe she’s taking it back!” he suggested jokingly to Willow. 

Taking it back? Was it possible for him to still move around and talk with his brain turned to dust? Before she could protest, Willow spoke up, “Yeah, yeah-I’m sure that’s it...” She opened one eye, and grinned amusedly at Dawn. 

Frowning slightly at Angel, Dawn suddenly felt the warm tingling sensation in her stomach intensify. It exploded through her torso, and shot down both her arms, far more strongly than it had before. Too amazed to stay annoyed, she grinned widely when Angel twitched just as it began to flow into his hands. “Taking it back, my ass...” The words escaped her before she could stop them.

“Wow!” He smiled wonderingly at her, and she found herself smiling back. “It feels good. Look at my hands.” 

Dawn glanced down, and her jaw dropped open. The burns on his hands were nearly completely gone, leaving smooth, unblemished skin in their place. The accelerated healing spread rapidly up his arms, up over his neck and face, and down across his chest. “Hot damn, I’m good.” She gasped breathlessly. Blushing when she realized she’d spoken out loud again, she lowered her head to avoid Angel’s amused look.

“This is amazing!” Willow blurted. Dawn jumped, having almost forgotten the redhead was still in the room. “I think that’s enough. Giles really should see this,” she added, letting go of both their hands.

“I’ll go get him!” Dawn jumped from the bed, jerking her hand free of Angel’s, and ran into the hallway, eager to find a place to gather her thoughts. Leaning against the wall for a moment, she rested her hands on her knees and tried to catch her breath. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, and she felt like she’d just run a marathon. How could she have had the capability to do something like that all this time, and not have suspected it? Her mind swam with the sudden possibilities.


	6. Chapter 6

Finally regaining a modicum of control, Dawn pushed away from the wall, and wandered into the living room. Giles was on the phone, talking spiritedly about some kind of elixir, but put his hand over the mouthpiece when she entered. “Willow needs you,” Dawn murmured dully, not wanting to go into detail. Without waiting for a response, she spun on her heel, and headed for her own room. 

When she walked in, Buffy was wrapping a bandage around her wrist. To her surprise, Xander was sitting on the bed beside Spike, with his hand on the vampire’s shoulder. She cleared her throat, and the trio looked up at her expectantly. “Um, Angel’s better. You should go see.” She nodded her head at Buffy and Xander in turn. “It’s, uh, pretty miraculous, I guess.” 

“Better?” Buffy raised an eyebrow questioningly. “How much better?”

“He’s healed,” Dawn shrugged casually. “Completely, I think. Willow is beside herself about it.”

Buffy and Xander exchanged bewildered looks, but Spike looked discerningly at Dawn, pinning her with his gaze. “Um, I guess we should go check that out,” Xander mumbled, glancing questioningly at Buffy.

Buffy cocked an eyebrow at Dawn, but turned and nodded agreeably at Xander, and they left the room without the interrogation Dawn had dreaded. As soon as they were gone, Dawn closed the door behind them, leaning against it and letting out a loud sigh of relief. 

“What’s up, Bit?” Spike asked suspiciously. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost, and believe me, I’m very well acquainted with that particular expression.” He tapped the side of his nose, and she couldn’t help but giggle.

“Hey, Spike.” She smiled worriedly at him. “How are you feeling?”

Spike sighed. “Not good,” he admitted quietly. “Buffy gave me some more of her blood, but I threw up.”

“Oh no!” Dawn moaned. Sitting on the bed, she felt his forehead, and winced. “You’re hot.” 

“So I’ve been told,” Spike teased, pressing his tongue against his teeth, and wiggling his eyebrows at her.

“Well, you’re still obnoxious, so that’s a good sign.” Dawn winked. Sliding her hand down a bit, she lightly caressed his cheek. She”d always thought his highly defined cheekbones were extremely sexy, but now he just reminded her of a documentary she had seen once about an anorexic girl. That girl had died at the end of the show. Shaking her head to clear the image from her mind, she bit her lip sharply, desperately fighting back the urge to throw herself at him, and break down in tears. When she felt like she could speak again, she asked, “Did you show it to anyone else?” She asked, glancing down at his upper stomach.

“No, Buffy and Xander have been the only ones to come in here, and they were too busy making lovey-dovey eyes at each other to pay much attention to me.” He shook his head slightly, then turned to stare out the window. Which was funny, what with the curtains being closed and all.

Dawn narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. Xander, at least, had obviously spared a moment or two for the vampire before she’d come in. She wondered if Spike realized how obvious he was making it that he was afraid, or if he was really still in denial about the seriousness of his condition. “I’m gonna go get Willow and Angel to come try to give you some more blood,” she announced, standing up.

“Angel’s really better?” Spike asked, turning to her and cocking his head to the side. Even in his nearly skeletal state, Dawn found the gesture completely adorable, and she couldn’t stop herself from reaching out to run her fingers through his messy blond curls. Spike smiled affectionately at her, and placed his hand over hers, holding it there as he pressed his head more firmly against her palm.

“He’s all better. Good as new,” she confirmed, smiling when his eyes lit up at the news.

“How?” Spike’s eyebrows shot up nearly to his hairline in shock. “Bloke was a french fry last night!”

“Um...we healed him,” Dawn shrugged. “It’s a long story. Apparently the Key energy can be used to heal.” She gestured vaguely at herself as she spoke. Sighing she admitted, “I’m not really sure how it works, but Willow suggested we try to heal him magically, and it actually worked really well.”

“Magic? You’re doing magic now, too?” Spike looked at her skeptically. “Are you sure it’s a good idea to get into that stuff? You saw what happened to Red.”

“I didn’t do it, I just let her siphon the energy from me,” Dawn rushed to assure him. “I wouldn’t mess around with that stuff.”

Spike still looked a little dubious for a moment, but then he tilted his head to one side again. “Do you think...do you think you two could heal me, too?” he asked hesitantly.

“I don’t know, but of course I want to try, Spike!” Dawn smiled, lovingly caressing his cheek again. “I’d do anything for you.” Her voice lowered to a quiet murmur as the truth of her own words hit her, and she had to take a deep breath to fight back the tears suddenly blurring her vision. She turned away from him, hiding her face. “I’m going to go get Willow.” 

“Dawn!” Spike spoke sharply and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back down on the bed before she could walk away. “Thank you. For what you did for Angel. I’ve been so worried about him.” His eyes swam with tears, and Dawn felt her control slipping.

“What’s going on with you two?” she asked quietly, despite herself.

“He’s my Sire,” he replied, shrugging dismissively, swiping a hand across his eyes.

“You said that already. It doesn’t really explain a whole lot,” Dawn sighed frustratedly. She knew that the two vampires’ relationship had been a lot more colorful in the past than either of them would ever admit, now. She knew as well as the other Scoobies where Giles hid the interesting books...the books with all the really juicy information about various demons’ mating rituals, and the especially revealing journal of a Watcher who had somehow infiltrated a ‘party’ attended by the ‘Scourge of Europe’ a few years before Angel had been cursed. Party...orgy, back then it was all the same to Angelus and William the Bloody. Part of her desperately wanted to know if the two had somehow rekindled that aspect of their relationship...which seemed likely, considering how concerned they were with each other’s well being. Suddenly, she hoped he wouldn’t answer. She couldn’t bear the thought of standing by again, watching Spike fawn all over someone else. Better to put off the inevitable for as long as possible. “Wait, I don’t want to know!” she blurted quickly, trying to pull away.

Spike cocked an eyebrow at her questioningly, catching her eye, and gazing intently at her for what seemed like hours. “Why do you care what’s going on with Angel and I, luv?” he whispered finally, reaching up, and cupping the back of her head tenderly.

Dawn stared at him, unable to look away, and wondered if she was imagining the barely concealed emotion in his eyes. Suddenly, Spike leaned forward, and pressed his lips to hers in a gentle, but not entirely chaste kiss. His slightly dry lips brushed across hers repeatedly, before he tilted his head, and pulled her firmly against him. Then, his tongue flicked out for a moment, grazing the crease of her lips. “Spike?” she gasped, pressing her fingertips to her lips when he slowly pulled away. “Why?” If he said it didn’t mean anything, she swore she was just going to die of frustration, right there on the spot.

“Sorry.” Spike grinned, looking anything but apologetic. “I’ve been wanting to do that ever since you walked in last night.” He ducked his head, then looked up at her shyly. “I was expecting my little Bit, and opened the door to see the most beautiful woman...you’re so beautiful, Dawn,” he declared quietly, and shrugged. “I couldn’t help myself.”

Dawn swallowed hard, her head swimming, and her breath catching painfully in her throat. She could feel a ridiculously goofy smile spreading across her face, and Spike grinned in return. “Um, uh...thank you?” Scrambling to her feet, she backed quickly to the door. “I’m gonna go get Willow, and, uh...Willow! I’m gonna get Willow!” she babbled inanely, feeling like her face was going to crack wide open.

Spike smirked shamelessly, and pressed his tongue to the back of his teeth. “You do that, Pet. I’ll wait for you.” Dawn turned to leave, and he called out, “Dawn, Angel and I are trying to put the past behind us. Bury the hatchet. That’s all.” Dawn turned her head, smiling demurely over her shoulder, and Spike chuckled, and winked mischievously. When Dawn finally regained full control of her facial muscles, she smirked back at him, and shot him a quick wink of her own before she gracefully slipped out the door.

As soon as she stepped into the hall, she saw Giles and Willow were already walking towards her, and stiffened guiltily, sure they could tell exactly what had just taken place from the look on her face. Hell, she was more than a little surprised her feet were still in contact with the ground.

“Ah, Dawn, there you are!” Giles smiled warmly at her. “We were just looking for you, to see if you would be willing to try-”

“Of course I’ll help you try to heal Spike!” Dawn interrupted him. “I was just looking for you two.” 

Willow eagerly pushed past her, and bounced into the room, so Dawn spun on her heel, and went back in as well. “Spike!” Willow greeted the blond enthusiastically. Leaning over, she gave him a gentle hug. “I can’t believe this. It’s so good to see you again! I missed you.” She put her hand on his cheek affectionately, and Dawn had to bite back a jealous growl.

“Thanks Red.” Spike smiled, looking embarrassed by the warmth of her greeting. “It’s good to see you, too.” Looking up when Giles entered the room at a far more dignified pace, he added, “You too, Rupert.”

“Spike,” Giles smiled fondly at him, and shook his hand a bit longer than he normally would. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I picked a fight with the wrong dragon,” Spike answered sarcastically. “You?”

Annoyed that he was still trying to act as though nothing was wrong, Dawn slammed the door loudly, leaning against it and avoiding Willow’s and Giles’ questioning looks. “Show them,” she said, looking sternly at Spike, who childishly made a face at her. “They need to see it if they want to help you!”

“Fine,” Spike grumbled. Wincing painfully, he sat up a little, and pulled his t-shirt up over his chest.

“Oh Goddess!” Willow gasped, her eyes filling with tears at the sight of the large, now slightly blackened looking wound. “Spike.” With shaking hands she reached out, and gently touched the skin on either side of the wound. The flesh for several inches around the bite was hard, swollen and red, and Dawn thought the red tendrils running away from it looked thicker and longer than they had just a few hours before. Closing her eyes, Willow sat quietly for a few moments, her face frozen in concentration. “I can feel the venom,” she announced, shuddering. “It’s spreading...eating away at the tissue around the bite.” She opened her eyes, and looked up at Giles helplessly. “I don’t know what to do about this. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. We have to find an antidote.”

“I-I can’t heal him?” Dawn asked quietly. “I mean...the Key energy?”

“Well, you might be able to help close the wound, but we need something to counteract the venom, somehow. Closing up the wound will probably give him more time, but he’ll feel sick until we find a way to neutralize the venom.”

“How sick?” Dawn asked, reaching out to take Spike’s hand. He gripped hers tightly, and she squeezed reassuringly.

“Eventually, it will affect his ability to feed-” Giles began sadly.

“He threw up after Buffy tried to feed him this morning,” Dawn said quickly, and Spike shot her a dirty look.

“Only because she smells like Harris,” he grumbled. Dawn glared at him until he rolled his eyes and reluctantly mumbled, “Okay, I felt like I was going to be sick the last few times I fed. Today, I just couldn’t keep it down.”

“We have to do something quickly,” Giles pointed out, needlessly. Both young women and the injured vampire shot him scornful, disbelieving looks, causing him to roll his eyes with a slight, self-deprecating smile. 

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Spike snorted. “None of us could have figured that out without you.” 

“Spike,” Dawn scolded him softly.

“I think the first thing we need to do is try to close the wound. Then he can try to eat again. Angel should be able to feed him now. Sire’s blood is the best thing for a sick vamp, right?” Willow looked questioningly at Spike, obviously more dubious that he’d be willing to drink from Angel than about the healing properties of Sire’s blood.

“Yeah,” Spike whispered, so softly they all had to strain to hear. “Are you sure he’s okay?”

“Leave it to you Spike,” Giles began, and Dawn looked at him worriedly, afraid he was about to tell the vampire that it was his tainted blood that had kept Angel from healing for so long. She let out a sigh of relief when the Watcher continued, “You always worry about everyone else before yourself, even at risk to your own life. I’m sorry I never gave you credit for it before.” As he spoke, he reached out, and patted Spike’s shoulder affectionately.

If Spike could have blushed, he would have. Looking down, he occupied himself with pulling down his shirt, and mumbled, “No big deal.” 

“It was a big deal for me,” Angel spoke up suddenly from the doorway. He entered the room, wearing a pair of Xander’s sweatpants and a white tank top. Dawn smiled shyly at him, then looked away quickly when she noticed Willow smirking at her.

“Angel!” Spike greeted his Sire with a huge, sincere smile. “Get in here! You look good, mate!”

Angel pushed away from the doorframe and spun around, playfully modeling for the younger vampire. “Thanks to Dawn and Willow,” he said, bowing gallantly to the two women before sitting on the foot of the bed. “If you don’t mind me saying,  _ you _ don’t look so good.” He frowned anxiously at Spike. “You shouldn’t have had to take care of me alone for so long, Spike. I’m so sorry. If I knew you were this sick, I would have...I don’t know, but I would have tried to do  _ something _ .”

“There was nothing you could do,” Spike shrugged casually. “I just did what I had to do. I’m glad you’re okay now.”

“Thanks to  _ you _ , too,” Angel smiled, patting Spike’s leg. Dawn noted anxiously that he frowned thoughtfully at the thin limb hidden beneath the blankets. Looking immediately at Willow, he asked, “Are you going to try...” 

Tuning him out, Dawn smiled at Spike, slightly amused by the caring interaction between the two vampires, who usually couldn’t be in the same room together without one, or both, of them ending up bloody. 

“Right now, I think,” Willow answered. She looked questioningly at Giles, who nodded. “Okay, we’ll do this the same way we did with Angel.” Willow gestured for Dawn to sit on the other side of the bed, forming a triangle between the two of them and Spike. “Either close your eyes and concentrate on the energy, or you can try focusing on Spike, if you think that will help. It seemed like it did with Angel,” she instructed Dawn with a wink.

Dawn rolled her eyes, grabbing Spike’s and Willow’s hands. Catching Spike’s gaze, she stared into his brilliant blue eyes, and concentrated on trying to direct energy up from her center, and into Willow’s hand. Spike smiled at her a bit shyly, and she was instantly rewarded with a tingling, energized sensation, which began moving up from her stomach, into her chest, and down her arms. She glanced over, and saw Willow smile encouragingly when she felt the energy entering her own arm. Glancing to her right, she saw Angel sitting on the foot of the bed, staring at Spike with an odd, intense expression. She quickly turned her attention back to Spike, who was now looking at Willow with a slight frown on his face.

Suddenly, Spike gasped, and then groaned loudly. Willow and Dawn both frowned in confusion. Instead of the relaxed, peaceful expression that had appeared on Angel’s face when he had felt the Key energy flowing into him, Spike’s face quickly contorted into one filled with pain as he whimpered loudly. “S-stop!” he gasped, weakly jerking his hands away from them. 

Dawn immediately let go of him, and stared in horror as he thrashed violently on the bed. When he began to scream in agony, she noticed that Willow hadn’t released his hand. Instead, the redhead was staring confusedly at Giles, seemingly unaware that the energy was still flowing into the injured vampire through her. “Will!” Dawn snapped angrily, yanking her hand free of Willow’s and pushing the other woman away from Spike. “It’s hurting him, you idiot!” She immediately turned her attention from the startled witch, and moved to check on Spike, who had rolled onto his side, and was now curled up in a ball, clutching his stomach. “Spike? Are you okay?” She reached out, and gently stroked his hair, leaning over him. “Spike? Answer me!”

Spike startled everyone by turning on her in full game face. “ _ Don’t touch me _ !” he snarled fiercely. He growled menacingly until she lowered her hand, completely stunned, and then shrank away from her fearfully. After scooting all the way to the other side of the bed, he curled up again, this time wrapping one arm around his head protectively. “Don’t touch me. Just leave me alone,” he muttered quietly, rocking back and forth slightly. 


	7. Chapter 7

Dawn stared dazedly at Spike’s huddled form for a moment, then jumped to her feet, and ran out of the room in tears. She tripped over nothing, and fell to her knees, sobbing quietly. For a moment or two, she simply knelt there, helpless to stop crying out all her guilt, fear and frustration. When she realized the others would probably come after her soon, she finally forced herself to her feet. Staggering blindly toward some undecided destination, where hopefully the earth would open up and swallow her whole, she ran into a tall, blurry figure about halfway down the hallway, and muttered, “Sorry, Xander.” Stepping to the side to go around him, she was surprised when he reached out, and grabbed her arm, stubbornly preventing her from walking away.

“I don’t think you should be alone if you’re going to blame yourself for what just happened,” Angel said firmly. “It wasn’t your fault Dawn. And don’t call me Xander!” he added with a soft chuckle.

Dawn looked up at him in surprise, then looked back at her room and back at Angel. “Huh? But you were...how...” She wiped at her eyes, trying uselessly to hide the fact that she’d been crying, and he seemed willing to play along with her pretense.

“Hello?  _ Vampire _ ? Why can’t you people ever remember that?” he teased gently. Then, he frowned thoughtfully, and studied her face for a moment. “You look exhausted, Dawn.” Wrapping his arm around her, he began leading her toward Xander’s room. 

“Angel!” She protested weakly. “I really don’t want to talk right now.”

“We’re just going to go lay down for a little while, so you can rest,” he stated firmly, grabbing her arm, and holding her hand in front of her face. “Look. You’re shaking. I don’t think you should be alone right now.”

Dawn stared numbly at her undeniably shaky hand. “But, Spike...” She half-turned back toward her room, but Angel tightened his arm around her waist, and continued dragging her down the hall, completely oblivious to her pathetic attempts to escape.

“He’s sound asleep. The others will let us know as soon as they come up with anything,” Angel promised. “You can’t help him if you run yourself ragged. I mean, look what’s happened to him because he did that taking care of me. I can’t do anything to heal him, so I’m going to take care of  _ you _ while he can’t!” 

Dawn opened her mouth to protest some more, and let out a huge yawn. Covering her mouth in embarrassment, she sneaked a reluctant peek at Angel. 

“Ha! See?” He smirked knowingly, and opened the door of his temporary bedroom, pushing her inside. “I think using that energy had more of an effect on you than Willow expected. I should have known...” When she looked up at him anxiously, he shrugged sheepishly. “I bet you just need a little nap.” He smiled weakly, then lowered his voice, and leaned toward her slightly as if he was about to share a deep, dark secret. “To tell you the truth, I’m a little worn out myself. This is more walking around than I’ve done in...sheesh, I don’t even know how long. What day is this?” He rubbed his face wearily, and she noticed for the first time that he did look pretty run down.

“June 5th.” Dawn frowned. “Wait...I think it’s the 6th.”

“It’s  _ June _ ?!” He gaped at her disbelievingly.

“Yeah, Spike was surprised by that, too.” She snorted, trying one last time to pull away from him.

“I guess time flies when you’re nearly dead. Er...deader than usual.” Angel grinned, pulling back the covers on the bed with his free hand as he easily held her in place. Looking at her sternly, he gestured for her to lay down. “Come on, I’m not letting you make yourself sick. I told Giles to come get us if anything happens.”

Dawn glared defiantly at him for a moment, then yawned again. Rolling her eyes at his triumphant smile, she stepped closer to the bed in defeat. “Uh, weren’t you all peely, gross, naked guy in this bed a little while ago?” she asked suddenly, hesitant to look too closely at the sheets.

“Oh, right. Sorry.” Angel made a face, and flipped the covers back up. “Extra blankets?” he asked, looking around the room. 

“Hall closet.” Dawn nodded her head toward the door with a smirk. There was a quick blur of movement, and before she could make a move toward the door to try to escape, Angel was back with two of Buffy’s favorite fluffy chenille blankets. He spread them out on top of the bedspread, and once again motioned for Dawn to lay down. Sighing loudly, she obeyed, sinking into the pillows, and accidentally letting out a soft moan of contentment. “I didn’t realize I was so tired,” she mumbled sleepily, rolling onto her stomach, and burrowing into the pillows. If she’d known Xander had such a comfortable bed, she would have pushed him and Buffy together ages ago. Maybe he’d let her move in here now.

Angel cautiously eased himself down onto the bed, laying on his side with his head propped on his hand. “You’ll feel much better after a little sleep.” He began stroking Dawn’s hair like she was a cat or something, and her eyes began drifting shut of their own accord. “He didn’t mean anything by it, you know,” he whispered. “The demon was in charge, and it felt threatened. It wasn’t Spike talking. He asked me to make sure you know that.” The soft caress of Angel’s hand on her head was quickly lulling her to sleep. She suspected that was intentional, and a quick look at Angel confirmed it. He winked at her, and leaned over to kiss her forehead. “Just go to sleep, kiddo. It’s okay.”

“Kay,” Dawn murmured, too far gone to remind him that she wasn’t a kid anymore. Just as she fell asleep, she felt him shift, and wrap his arm around her shoulders protectively. Too tired to fight it any longer, she slipped into a deep, peaceful sleep.

*****

Dawn awoke some time later to find herself inexplicably sitting upright on Xander’s bedroom floor. The room was almost completely dark, the only light filtering through the curtains from a nearby streetlight. There was no sign of Angel. Standing up, she smoothed down her clothes and combed her fingers through her hair before opening the door. 

As she passed the living room, she hardly even blinked at the sight of Buffy, Faith and Angel struggling to subdue a massive, greenish demon that looked like it had wandered off the set of a Hellmouth-based Kung-Fu movie. “What’s up?” she asked Giles, who was standing in the hallway, holding a thick chain, which he seemed to be trying to use as a lasso. He didn’t acknowledge her question, so she shrugged and moved on, strolling into her room and walking straight to the side of the bed. Spike was lying unconscious on top of the blankets, and she saw that the wound in his stomach had worsened dramatically. There was now a gaping black hole, and the skin around the edges was crumbling in on itself, as if he were dusting in slow motion. “Spike,” she murmured his name mournfully, reached out to stroke his hair, and screamed. 

Her hand was glowing. Looking down, she saw that her entire body, clothing included, was shining with a soft greenish light.

“You’re the only one who can save him,” a booming male voice declared from behind her. Shrieking, she turned to see a terrifying black demon with strange, angular scales and ridges covering his body in a bizzare form of armor, and odd blade-like spikes forming a sort of crown on the top of his head. She shrank away, carefully placing herself protectively between him and Spike.

“Who are you? How did you get in here?” Dawn demanded, her voice shaking slightly. He shot her an amused look, then pulled a long, wooden handled blade seemingly out of nowhere. Dawn took another step back, blinking at the knife. It was Xander’s favorite kitchen knife. “What’s with the lame ass weaponry? I’d expect a big guy like you to have some kind of fancy sword or something,” she taunted him. Judging from the sounds in the hallway, the others would arrive any second. If she could just keep him away from Spike...

“It’s not for fighting,” he spoke again at last. Flipping the knife so the blade was toward his wrist, he offered it to her, handle first. “You’ll need this. Don’t let them do what they’re trying to do. It will kill him.”

“You want me to fight them off with this?” Dawn grabbed the knife from him, never one to pass up a chance to take a weapon away from a potential enemy, no matter how pathetic said weapon might be. 

“It’s not for fighting, Dawn,” the demon repeated, rolling his eyes and snorting. She suddenly noticed how much he looked like a grotesquely mutated bull, and had to suppress a hysterical giggle. “You’ll have to work quickly.  _ Very _ quickly, if you know what I mean?” He walked around to the other side of the bed, looking at her expectantly.

“No, I don’t know what you mean!” Dawn yelped as he started to fade away. “What are you talking about? Come back here!”

“You know what you have to do. They’ll try to stop you, but none of them are fast enough. Just do what you have to do, and keep that damn Mohra away from him!” the demon ordered urgently. Nodding toward the bed he said, “Get back to work! You’re not moving fast enough.”

Dawn glanced down and screamed. Her hands were covered in blood, the knife was now protruding from the middle of Spike’s wound, and she was holding what appeared to be a long piece of intestine in one hand. “No! Spike!” Horrified, she threw the disgusting, bloody mess on the bed and turned to run for help. She immediately tripped over a shoe sticking out from under the bed, and fell, grabbing onto the bedspread and pulling it over her head on the way down. “Buffy! Buffy! Help!” she screamed, struggling to untangle herself.

“Dawnie?” Her sister was at her side in an instant, pulling the blanket off her head, and stroking her hair. “It’s about time you woke up. That must have been some nightmare, we heard you screaming from the stairwell!”

“Nightmare?” Dawn looked around in confusion. She heard a small click and the room was suddenly flooded with light, revealing that she was sitting on the floor of Xander’s bedroom with the chenille blankets Angel had gotten from the linen closet earlier tangled around her torso. Buffy was staring at her with obvious concern, and Willow was hovering anxiously in the doorway.

“You fell out of bed, Dawnie.” Buffy offered her a hand and helped her to her feet. “Are you alright? You’ve been asleep for about eleven hours!” 

“What?!” Dawn shrieked. No wonder she had to pee so badly.

Willow winced, and stuck a finger in her ear, smiling at her ruefully. “Yep, It’s almost Midnight, Sweetie.”

“No way!” Dawn gaped at her sister, who nodded meekly. “I was screaming?” She frowned thoughtfully, trying to remember, but her brain seemed to be a little foggy. 

“Like the hounds of Hell were after you. Well, actually a little louder than the time Tucker actually unleashed the Hellhounds...” Buffy giggled briefly, then sobered. “What were you dreaming about?”

“I don’t know,” Dawn replied, shrugging. “I think it had something to do with Spike? It’s just a blur. There was blood.” She looked down at her hands and shrugged again, unable to recall anything more. A nagging voice in the back of her head insisted she was forgetting something vitally important. “I can’t remember.” She shook her head sadly for a moment, then dismissed the dream in favor of more pressing concerns. “How is Spike doing?”

Buffy bit her lip, and glanced at Willow, so Dawn turned to the redhead expectantly. “Will?”

Willow cringed, and looked at the floor, and Dawn’s heart sank. “He’s asleep right now, but he had a really rough day. He, uh, can’t eat anymore, and he’s in a lot of p-pain.” Her lip began trembling violently, and she burst into tears. “It’s all my fault!”

“No!” Buffy protested, grabbing her friend in a tight hug. “Remember what Giles said? There was no way you could have known. He didn’t realize, either.” As she spoke, she gently stroked Willow’s hair, the way she often did with Dawn when she was younger.

“I should have called Althenea before we just went off all willy-nilly,” Willow sobbed, pressing her face into Buffy’s shoulder. Dawn felt a bubble of panic rising in her throat, even with everything they’d been through, she’d rarely seen Willow so upset.

“What did Giles say?” Dawn asked, her throat tightening painfully. Buffy looked at Willow uncertainly, as if looking for permission to answer. “What did he say, Buffy?!”

“Giles thinks you’re not so much a key, per se, as some kind of catalyst,” her sister began slowly. “Basically, he said Angel’s body was already healing, and your energy stimulated that process...sped it up. But Spike’s body isn’t trying to heal itself anymore. The venom is slowly destroying the tissue.”

“And we accelerated  _ that _ process instead. Giles and I examined him...the venom has eaten a hole in his stomach. The last time he tried to feed-” Willow broke off, sobbing loudly. “I’m so sorry, I should have put more thought into it before we tried to heal him. It’s all my fault. If I had just stopped and thought about it...I should have known it couldn”t be that easy.”

Dawn bit her lip to keep from swearing at the troubled redhead. Logically, she realized there was no way Willow could have known what she was asking Dawn to do, but that didn’t seem to matter to the tight ball of rage that was forming in her stomach, growing more intense by the moment. Closing her eyes, she held up her hand, and muttered. “Look, I have to go to the bathroom. I...I can’t deal with you right now.” She turned her back on her sister and the witch, struggling to keep from breaking down in front of them. 

“Dawnie,” Willow moaned, and Dawn heard her step closer.

“Save it!” Dawn growled ferociously. “I’m really not in the mood for any more of your apologies or excuses. I just slept for an entire day, after helping  _ you _ torture.” The thin line holding her emotions in check suddenly snapped, and she spun around, screaming, “I  _ love  _ him, and...and he kissed me...he finally wanted  _ me _ . But now he hates me, and he’s going to  _ die _ , and it’s all your fault!” She advanced on Willow, clenching her fists as the redhead let out a pitiful whimper, and slumped to the floor dejectedly. “I hate you!” Dawn screeched, leaning over her huddled form.

“Dawn!” Buffy gasped, grabbing her arm, and pulling her away from their friend. 

“No! Stay the hell away from me!” Dawn whirled around, stomping out of the room, and down the hall. At her bladder’s insistence, she locked herself in the bathroom until she stopped shaking and got her breathing somewhat under control. When she finally opened the door, she ran into a solid wall of flesh and shrieked. “Xander!” she panted, holding her hand to her chest. “You scared the crap out of me!” she chuckled weakly, trying to push by him. 

To her surprise, he stubbornly refused to yield. “You can be mad at Willow, if you want to. I can understand that.” His voice was tight and angry. “But Buffy didn’t do anything to you.” He frowned down at her, blocking her exit.

“Overprotective much? I’m not mad at Buffy,” Dawn sighed, biting her lip. “I just had to get out of there before I ripped Willow’s frigging head off.” She looked back up at him defiantly. “ _ Her _ , I’m mad at.”

Xander tipped his head back and sighed loudly. “Join the club,” he groaned, looking down at her, and shrugging slightly. “I think Giles is ready to take away her broomstick privileges forever. He’s not too happy with himself, either.”

“Mmm,” Dawn nodded thoughtfully. “You think he could do something about me being such a freak that I can’t even touch someone who’s sick without nearly killing them?” Suddenly, her long forgotten fears about being a complete misfit, not really human, had all came crashing back. How could she ever have thought she’d be able to live a normal life just because Glory was gone? She’d almost convinced herself that with the Hell God gone, she, herself, was no longer the Key. As waves of anger, hurt, and depression threatened to smother her, she let out a choked sob.

“You are  _ not _ a freak,” Xander murmured emphatically, enveloping her in a warm hug. “You’re  _ amazing _ .” He kissed the top of her head, and she immediately burst into tears. “Please don’t cry, Dawnie,” he pleaded, rubbing her back comfortingly. “Sweetie, what happened to Spike wasn’t your fault! And look what you did for Angel! He’s practically good as new. It’s not your fault that  ‘like new Angel’ is still pretty annoying,”he whispered confidingly. Dawn snorted, but continued to cry quietly into his chest.

“Dawn?” She heard Buffy ask hesitantly after a few minutes. 

“She thinks she’s a freak,” Xander explained quietly, still rubbing Dawn’s back as she tried to get herself under control. 

“What? Dawnie, no!” Buffy exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the two brunettes. “You’re not a freak,” she growled in Dawn’s ear. 

“If Spike dies...” Dawn sniffled, unable to continue because she didn’t know what she would do if he died again. She’d barely survived it the first time.

“We’re not going to give up on him, Dawn.” Buffy pulled her closer and kissed the side of her head. “I won’t let you lose him again, I promise. Especially now.” 

“So, you’re not upset?” Dawn asked quietly, biting her lip as she looked questioningly at her sister.

“No,” Buffy smiled warmly and hugged her again. “It’s a little weird, but I’m not upset.” She reached up, and cupped Dawn’s cheek in her hand. “ _ When _ he gets better...” she shot Dawn a meaningful look before continuing, “I’ll even let him know there’s no stake waiting for him if you decide to explore this further.”

“Am I missing something?” Xander asked hesitantly, and Dawn snorted again.

“Later, honey,” Buffy giggled, patting him comfortingly on the arm.

Just then, Dawn heard footsteps, and Giles clearing his throat behind her. “I hate to interrupt, but Spike’s awake again. He’s still asking for Dawn.”

“He wants to talk to me?” Dawn looked up hopefully. “I thought he didn’t want me anywhere near him after...you know...”

“He’s asked for you every time he’s woken up,” Buffy said, shaking her head.

“And you didn’t come get me?” Dawn smacked her sister on the arm, and Buffy winced. “You brat!” 

“I tried the first two or three times, but you were completely out of it. After that he refused to let me try again. He insisted you needed the sleep,” Buffy replied poutily, rubbing her arm.

"Oh.” Dawn winced. “Sorry.”

“Forget about me. Go!” Buffy smiled, and shooed Dawn toward her room.


	8. Chapter 8

Dawn raced down the hall, sliding to a stop and almost falling on her face in front of her bedroom door. Taking a deep breath to gather her courage, she knocked quietly.

“You don’t have to knock on your own door, luv!” Spike called hoarsely. “Get in here!”

Dawn rolled her eyes at her own awkwardness as she opened the door and walked in. “Hi, Spike.” The nervous smile she’d plastered on her face faded as soon as she saw him, and she quickly pretended to examine her fingernails to try to hide her dismay. She wouldn’t have thought it was possible, but he looked even more haggard than he had the day before, and she gave herself another mental kick in the head for her contribution to his worsened condition.

“Did Angel not give you the message, or are you just dense?” Spike asked somewhat impatiently after a few moment. Dawn jerked her head up, startled by his tone. “Get over here already! I’ve been waiting to see my girl for hours, and you know I’m not a patient man.” Despite his fragile state, his eyes twinkled brightly, and he smiled warmly at her as he spread his arms wide. 

Dawn’s heart skipped a beat, and she flung herself across the room at a speed that might have made any vampire jealous. Just before she reached Spike, however, she froze. “No!”

“No?” He repeated incredulously. “I know I haven’t had the best record with women, Pet, but I’m pretty sure I wasn’t misreading any of your signals.” He gazed pleadingly at her, and absently swiped his fingers through his hair.

“Oh!” Dawn blushed and sat on the edge of the bed, carefully out of reach. “You didn’t! You really, really didn’t.” She looked up at him through her eyelashes, and blushed even further when he smirked, and did the ‘tongue behind his teeth’ thing again.

“Do I sense a but?” he asked suspiciously, reaching for her with a lecherous smile.

“I can’t touch you!” Dawn blurted, jerking her arm away just before he made contact with her wrist. 

“Bloody Angel,” Spike muttered angrily, throwing his hands in the air disgustedly. “I told him to tell you...”

“He told me what you said,” Dawn sighed. “It might have been the demon talking earlier, but the fact remains, it  _ is _ dangerous for me to touch you. If I were to accidentally give you another ‘push,’ it could kill you next time! It’s not worth the risk!” She declared, crossing her arms across her chest and shaking her head determinedly.

“I beg to differ.I think it’s plenty worth it,” Spike pouted, but Dawn noticed he had withdrawn his hand to a safer distance. “There’s got to be some way around it. You can’t live your whole bloody life without touching anyone in case it might affect them poorly.” His eyes seemed to bore into her as he gave her an extremely meaningful look.

“If you die, my life won’t matter,” Dawn whispered, evasively dropping her gaze to the bedspread. 

“Hey! None of that!” Spike growled angrily. “I know it doesn’t look too promising for me to have a happily ever after, but you’re only 18. If something happens to me, you have to swear to me-”

“No,” Dawn snapped. “I’m not having this conversation with you!” Her eyes welled with frustrated tears, and she bit back a sob. “You can’t just give up!”

“I don’t want to give up!” Spike yelled, his voice cracking painfully. “I want the world to quit screwing me over! I want to wrap my arms around you, and hold on tight, and never let go! But it’s becoming increasingly obvious that the Powers have something different in mind for me.” He clutched his stomach after this outburst, and Dawn”s own stomach lurched fearfully.

“Are you okay?!” She reached for him without thinking, and jerked her hands away at the last possible moment.

“No, I’m not fucking okay!” Spike muttered. His hand moved toward her in a blur of unexpected speed, and he grabbed her hand before she could stop him. She immediately tried to pull away, but he stubbornly held on. “See?” He smiled reassuringly at her after several seconds passed uneventfully, and Dawn stared down at their hands in awe.

“Spike, that was so stupid,” she scolded, shaking her head, but smiling affectionately at him all the same. 

“No one ever accused me of being overly bright.” Spike grinned, flipping his eyebrows at her. “But it looks like I was right this time.” He tugged her arm gently, and she gave in, moving into his arms with a contented sigh. 

“Fine, you were right and I was wrong,” she admitted, pouting exaggeratedly at him as she laid down beside him, resting her head on his shoulder.

Spike wrapped his arms around her tightly, and dipped his head to kiss her tenderly on the forehead. “It’s got to happen occasionally, y’know.”

“I really like your timing,” Dawn winked, rolling on her stomach, and scooting further up the bed, bringing herself face to face with him. “Spike?” She leaned closer, stopping just before their lips made contact.

“Yeah, luv?” he murmured, tilting his head slightly to the side, his eyes locked on her mouth.

“I love you,” she whispered, brushing her lips lightly across his, then pulling back a bit to study his face, waiting anxiously for his response.

Spike closed his eyes tightly for a moment, and when he opened them again, they were brimming with unshed tears. “140 years,” he murmured shakily before taking her head in his hands, and cutting off her confused reply by covering her mouth with his own. Dawn moaned happily and opened her mouth, allowing his tongue to slip inside. He gently probed her teeth, cheeks, and the roof of her mouth before wrapping his tongue around hers, and encouraging her to explore his mouth in return. When she shook her head slightly, and sucked on his tongue instead, he growled softly, and pressed harder against her, causing their teeth to clash jarringly. “Sorry,” he murmured, not breaking contact.

“S’okay,” Dawn giggled before finally letting him draw her tongue into his mouth, where he sucked it lightly before allowing her to explore the cool, wet space, as he had hers. They both moaned loudly when he released her head, and slid his hands down her sides to her hips, pulling her on top of him. Dawn carefully straddled his hips, and unconsciously ground herself against him. “God, Spike!” she panted, feeling a shock of pleasure shoot through her at the contact. 

“Dawn, baby,” Spike sighed in response, lifting his hips, and rubbing himself against her through the layers of fabric separating them, as their tongues continued to slide back and forth between their joined mouths. To her amazement, she felt him beginning to harden beneath her in spite of his somewhat feeble state. “I love you so much. Sorry it took me so long to figure out I had the wrong sister,” he murmured, when she drew back slightly for an overdue breath. :You;re the only one who always believed in me. You were there for me from the beginning, even if it was just to tell me when I;d really fucked up.”

“Shhhh,” Dawn shushed him, giggling into his mouth as she recaptured his lips. As they continued to learn every bump and contour of each other’s mouths, and grind against each other, she suddenly realized that the pleasant tingling in her stomach wasn’t solely due to arousal; the feeling was spreading through her chest and down her arms, which were currently wrapped tightly around Spike’s neck. “No!” she screamed, jerking away from him so violently that she fell backwards off the bed.

“Dawn?” Spike leaned over the edge of the bed and stared down at Dawn uncertainly. “What’s with the tumbling routine?”

“Are you okay?” Dawn demanded breathlessly, jumping to her feet, and staring intently at him. “Spike? It didn’t get to you, did it?”

“Did what? Huh?” He cocked his head confusedly for a moment, but then his face fell as his eyes lit with understanding. “It almost happened again, didn’t it?” he sighed miserably.

“Almost. So, you didn’t feel it? You’re sure?” Dawn reached for him unconsciously, then held her hands up in front of her dazedly. “I didn’t notice it was happening until...god...it was almost in my h-hands! I could have-” 

“But you didn’t.” Spike smiled reassuringly, but his eyes were sad, and Dawn’s heart sank. “Guess I wasn’t right, after al,” he mumbled, shrugging meekly.

“Guess not,” Dawn muttered, staring at the floor dejectedly. “I hate this!” she growled angrily. “The universe hates me!” she declared, not caring about the blatantly whiny tone of her voice. “It’s the only explanation for why my life just sucks completely!”

“I think if anything, you’re second on the Powers shit list,” Spike muttered angrily. “It’s me they’re after. Sadistic bastards! Can’t even just kill a bloke outright. Gotta jerk him around...wave everything he ever wanted in his face first, before they yank the rug out from under him. ‘Oh, you can’t have  _ her _ , Spike. Wouldn’t want you to fall in love, and settle down with someone who, God only knows why, actually loves you back. That might actually make your lousy life worth living, and we can’t let  _ anyone _ just be  _ happy _ , no, no, can’t have that!”

Smiling somewhat goofily despite the hopelessness of their situation, Dawn opened her mouth to ask if Spike really wanted to settle down with  _ her _ ; but before she could say anything, Spike’s annoyed ranting was cut short by Buffy and Xander, who suddenly burst into the room, armed with axes and swords. “What happened?!” Buffy yelled, scanning the room frantically for a moment before she stood up straighter, and lowered her sword. “Um, what happened?” she asked again, more quietly, her nose wrinkling in confusion.

“I, uh, I touched Spike and the energy thing started to happen again,” Dawn mumbled, blushing slightly. “Sorry I scared you. I kind of scared myself,” she added with a shudder.

“It happened on its own? You weren’t trying?” Xander asked gently, wrapping his arm around her comfortingly when she nodded her head miserably.

Spike growled softly, his eyes turning yellow. “Oy, Harris, rub it in why don’t ya?” 

“Huh?” Xander stared at him confusedly, then winced and dropped his arm. “Sorry, Spike.’ He walked over, and sat beside Spike, patting the vampire’s shoulder awkwardly. 

“S’alright,” Spike sighed. “Sorry. It’s just not fair,” he pouted irritably.

Dawn groaned, and flopped down on the foot of the bed. “Tell me about it.”

“Aw, Dawnie,” Buffy sat beside her, and gently rubbed her back. “It’ll be okay. Angel and Giles are working on something. They’ve got all the slayers looking some demon that’ll be able to cure Spike.” 

Dawn sat up abruptly, grabbing Buffy’s arm. “They found someone who knows the antidote for dragon venom?” she asked eagerly, feeling a surge of hope bubbling in her chest despite herself.

“Why didn;t anyone mention this before?” Spike asked suspiciously.

“Well,we weren’t sure if the demon even exists anymore, but Faith just called. It seems one of her contacts in Cleveland reported that there’s been a clan of Mohra living in Salt Lake City for decades. She’s on her way there now with a couple of the Sunnydale girls to try to capture one.” Buffy beamed happily at the startled couple.

“What kind of demon?” Dawn asked after the shock had worn off, frowning slightly. She wanted to be excited, but a sudden chill seemed to have taken hold of her, and she had an unshakeable feeling that something was horribly wrong. 

“Mohra?” Buffy looked questioningly at Xander, who nodded affirmatively.

“Yeah, apparently Angel had a run in with one right after he moved to LA. It’s blood can supposedly restore  _ anything _ . It actually turned him human again, but he had to find a way to reverse it because he wasn”t strong enough to fight it as a human, and it nearly killed him.” Xander explained, looking slightly confused.

“So, the cure might only be temporary?” Spike snorted, throwing up his hands in disgust. “Wonderful!”

“Nope, it’s permanent,” Buffy grinned. “He had to get the Powers to turn back time to undo it. Once you’re cured, you’ll be cured for good.”

“But doesn’t that mean Spike will be human?” Dawn couldn’t help but smile, despite the nagging feeling of unease that was building in the pit of her stomach.

Xander reached over, and clasped Spike’s shoulder gently. “Yep I won’t be able to call you Fangless anymore, Fangless.” He chuckled, completely at ease with his former nemesis. It was amazing, Dawn thought, what finally winning the girl could do for a guy’s attitude toward his former competition.

“You’re an idiot, Harris,” Spike snorted, shrugging him off, but his rather fond smile belied his words. 

Xander thought for a moment, then sighed and rolled his eye. “Oh, right. Well, maybe I’ll just keep it up until you learn to say  _ my _ name, then. It’s easy. ‘Zan Dur,’” he pronounced the syllables exaggeratedly. “You should try it some time!” He slapped Spike on the back good naturedly.

“How about I just call you ‘Dur?’” Spike grinned mischievously, then moaned softly, and rubbed his forehead.

“Are you okay?” Dawn asked worriedly when he began shivering uncontrollably.

“Y-yeah,” Spike stammered quietly. “Just a little tired. It’s kind of cold in here, too.” He pulled the covers up around his shoulders, and yawned loudly.

“We’ll get out of here and let you get some sleep, then.” Buffy smiled warmly at the vampire, and reached out for Xander’s hand. “I could use a little rest, too,” she added, winking at her boyfriend. “And so could you.” 

“I’m not tired.” Xander shook his head slightly, and Buffy smirked at him, raising her eyebrows questioningly. “Oh!” His jaw dropped open slightly, and his face lit up. “Oh, right...rest. Yes. I could definitely go for some of that.” He grabbed Buffy’s hand, and bolted for the door. “Bye, guys!” He called over his shoulder before dragging the giggling blonde out of the room.

“Tact and subtlety are really not their strong suit,” Spike observed with a snort.

“Aww, they’re cute,” Dawn admonished, smacking him playfully on the leg, then jerking her hand away fearfully. Biting her lip, she slid off the side of the bed and stood up. “I guess I should go, and let you rest.”

“Stay with me?” Spike asked pleadingly as he squirmed around, trying to get more comfortable. Finally settling against the pillows piled behind him, he patted the bed beside him, and smiled at her hopefully.

“No, Spike,” Dawn shook her head adamantly and stepped away from the bed.

“C’mon, luv. No touching. Just lay down beside me?” he begged shamelessly. “Please? I don’t want to be alone.” As he spoke, he chewed his lower lip nervously, and looked up at her through his eyelashes.

“Stop that!” Dawn laughed, holding her hand in front of her eyes.

“Why? Is it working?” Spike chuckled softly. “Come on, Dawnie. Please stay.”

“Okay,” Dawn nodded agreeably. “But not on the bed. One of us might roll over or something. I’ll sit on the lounge.” She jabbed a thumb toward the heavily padded piece of furniture near the windows, where she frequently sat to read.

“Pet-” Spike started to protest, and yawned again.

“I’m not even tired, Spike. I just slept for most of a day!” Dawn interrupted him. “I’ll just sit here, and read a book or something, okay?” 

“You won’t leave?” he asked, yawning adorably as his eyes began to drift shut.

“I won’t leave you, I promise.” Dawn carefully tucked the covers in around him, and gave him a quick, cautious kiss on the forehead, barely grazing his skin before pulling away.

“Soon as I’m better, I’m going to kiss you for 24 hours straight,” Spike mumbled sleepily.

“You won’t be able to,” Dawn giggled. When he drowsily opened one eye, and looked at her, she said, “Sounds like you’ll be human. You’ll have to stop to breath, among other things,” she explained with a playful wink. “Human things.”

“I want babies. Always wanted lots of babies,” Spike mumbled as his eye slipped shut again, then let out a soft snore.

“Oh Spike,” Dawn sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed, and gazing down at him longingly. She could easily imagine a chubby, smiling baby with curly light brown hair, and Spike’s piercing blue eyes. Taking a chance, she reached out to caress his cheek, and he moaned happily in his sleep, pressing his face against her hand for a moment before she reluctantly pulled it away. “You’ll make a wonderful father someday,” she whispered, brushing her lips across his forehead again.

“Not if he’s dead, he won’t!” A deep, rumbling, and rather annoyed voice declared suddenly from the previously vacant lounge behind her.


	9. Chapter 9

Dawn whirled around, and tried to scream at the sight of a large, black, heavily armored demon sprawled across her favorite chair. However, when she opened her mouth wide, he quickly waved his hand in her direction, and no sound would come out. Grabbing her throat, she looked around for something to use as a weapon while carefully maneuvering herself to block as much of Spike’s sleeping form from the intruder as possible.

“Your protective instincts are commendable.” The demon nodded approvingly, then stepped forward, grabbed her upper arms in a painfully tight grip, and yelled, “But your memory isn’t worth shit!!! Come  _ on _ , girl! Time’s a wasting!” He shook her none too gently as he continued angrily, “They’re on their way with the Mohra, and you’re still twiddling your thumbs, and daydreaming about having his baby? Their way isn’t going to work! Mohra blood will restore him to a human state, but it  _ can’t _ remove the venom from his body. Got it?” he asked irritably, letting her go at last.

Dawn opened her mouth to speak, then rolled her eyes, and pointed at her mouth. The demon cringed, and waved his hand again. “Who are you?” she demanded irritably.

“Does it matter?” he asked incredulously.

“Looking like  _ that _ ?” Dawn gestured at him wildly. “You look like you’re auditioning for Beelzebub or something, for crying out loud! Yeah, it matters!” She rubbed her arms as obviously as possible, and glared at him.

“Fine,” He rolled his eyes, and muttered something about Californian women before he sighed. “The name’s Skip. I was sent by the Powers to make sure you don’t let God’s gift to brooding out there kill his Childe before the prophecy...well, that’s beside the point. If you let them bleed that Mohra out over Spike, he’s going to become human, and then the venom is going to kill him instantly.  _ Think about it _ . Only you can save him.”

“What makes you think I can save him? I already tried! I just made things worse!” Dawn yelled, beyond frustrated. 

“Because, you’re the oldest soul in this world, and if you would just stop thinking about it, you already know how to save him. I showed you before. You just have to let go and trust yourself. If you hurry, you’ll be done before that Faith chick gets here.” Skip made shooing motions toward the door, and Dawn chewed her lip thoughtfully. “Go!”

Dawn turned and looked at Spike, then whipped her head around as a thought occurred to her. “How do I know you’re not trying to-” she trailed off abruptly, seeing that the lounge chair was empty. “Shit!” She looked around frantically, then looked back at Spike. “Blood. There was blood!” She gasped as images from her dream flooded her mind. “I have to cut out the venomed parts!” she exclaimed, as realization struck. “That’s stupid! I’d have to take out most of his internal organs, and even though he’s not using  _ most _ of them, he still needs his stomach,right?” She began pacing back and forth, chewing her thumbnail as she tried to work things out. “Vampires heal really well...they can grow almost anything back if they live long enough. If I could make him heal really fast after cutting out the affected parts, he could regrow his stomach before he dies of starvation!” She smiled slightly, then frowned. “Except the venom’s probably gotten into his heart, too. If I cut _ that  _ out, he’ll dust.” She grunted, and waved her hand in front of her face dismissively, as if she could wipe the disturbing thought away. “That’s definitely no good. I can’t do this!” she whined, sinking down onto the bed.

For several minutes she sat with her head in her hands, despairing of ever figuring out the solution. Then an idea occurred to her that had her jumping to her feet, her spirits buoyed with renewed hope. When she bolted toward the door, she tripped over one of her sneakers, which was sticking out from under the bed slightly, and nearly fell. “Yes!” She laughed hysterically and struggled to regain her balance, staggering gracelessly for several steps before she resumed her dash to find Giles. Surely the Watcher would be able to figure out what she should do.

To her horror, when she ran into the living room, Giles was nowhere in sight. However, Faith, Angel, Buffy and Xander were frantically trying to subdue a strangely familiar demon. “No!” she gasped. “You can’t do this!” she yelled, glaring especially vehemently at Faith, wondering how the brunette slayer had gotten there so quickly.

“It’ll be fine, Dawn!” Buffy panted. “We’re almost there. Get out of the way!” She let go with one hand to gently push Dawn to the side, and Dawn quickly moved to block her.

“No! Listen to me! You can’t do this! It’ll kill him!” she shrieked, momentarily succumbing to panic.

“Dawn, move!” Angel ordered angrily. “It’ll work!”

“How do you know?” Dawn challenged him, standing her ground when he tried to push by her.

The four stopped their slow, and literally painful, movement toward Dawn’s bedroom, mainly because Dawn had grabbed the wooden trim on either side of the living room doorway, effectively barring their path. “Because it was my idea!” Angel snapped, somewhat cockily. “That Althea person-”

“Althenea!” Buffy corrected him breathlessly as the demon elbowed her in the chest, and Xander threw himself at it with renewed vigor, resulting in Buffy immediately having to extract him from it’s deadly grip.

“Whatever! She told Giles that the oldest one here would be able to cure Spike. I’m the oldest, and this is the only way I can think of to cure him!” Angel snapped as he helped Buffy twist the demon’s arm behind it’s back, then quickly caught Xander before he could fall to the floor. “You okay, Harris?” he asked brusquely, patting the other man on the back as he struggled to catch his breath.

Dawn gasped as another piece of the puzzle fell into place, making her even more confident that she was doing the right thing. “You’re not the oldest one here, you idiot!” she informed the vampire scornfully.

“What?” Xander croaked, looking at her curiously.

“Dawn, we don’t have time for this, kiddo!” Faith yelled as she jumped on the demon’s back, and tried to put it in a headlock.

“If you let that thing bleed on Spike, he’ll turn human again, and the dragon’s venom will kill him!” Dawn rushed to explain.

“What?” Angel faltered slightly, then began trying to push her out of the way. “You’re crazy, Dawnie. I don’t know where this is coming from, but this is the only way-” 

“You don’t sound so sure of yourself, Angel,” Dawn shouted as she was rather roughly shoved to the side. “If you’re so sure this’ll work, how about you let it bleed on yourself, first! You want to be human, don’t you? You’ve still got Spike’s infected blood in your system, don’t you? If you really think it’s safe, let it bleed on you, first!” Her voice rose to a frantic scream as the four manhandled the demon down the hallway. “Please don’t do this!”

Xander looked back over his shoulder, and seemed for a moment like he might be inclined to agree with Dawn, but just then the demon put up a fight, and he was forced to concentrate on not getting his head ripped off, since it had apparently decided to target the weakest of its captors first.

With no more time to waste trying to convince the others that she was right, Dawn turned, and ran into the kitchen. She grabbed blindly toward the knife rack beside the stove, and as soon as her hand closed around a handle, she spun and raced back to her own room. Buffy and the others were having such a hard time maneuvering the demon that it almost looked like they were moving in slow motion, and Dawn easily managed to slip past them into her room.

Locking the door behind her, she scrambled to the side of the bed, and sat down beside Spike. “Spike?” she whispered softly, not really wanting to wake him up before she did what she was about to do. “Whatever happens, I hope you know that I’m just trying to save you. Those guys are going to kill you if I let ‘em do what they’re trying to do. I love you so much, Spike.” Biting back a sob, she kissed him hard on the lips, then pulled back the blankets, groaning at the gruesome appearance of his wound. Just as she could now remember from her dream, the bite was now a deep, blackened hole, and the edges were collapsing in on themselves, crumbling like the ashes of a burned out log that stubbornly holds it’s shape long after the fire has gone out. “Oh god,” she whimpered.

Shifting the knife to her left hand so she could wipe the sweaty palm of her right on her jeans, she noticed that the kitchen knife she had blindly chosen was the knife she’d used in her dream. Chuckling nervously, she wrapped her freshly dried hand around the handle, and hefted it carefully, adjusting her grip several times until it felt perfect. She took a deep breath, and reached toward Spike with trembling hands, feeling the edge of the wound, and trying to figure out where on earth she was supposed to cut first.

“Dawn! Let us in! Now!” Angel bellowed suddenly, accompanied by a violent pounding on the door that made her jump just as she was about to make her first reluctant incision. “This is ridiculous! Let us in!”

Dawn closed her eyes, and tried to concentrate. “I can’t do this,” she muttered. “I don’t know where to cut! I don’t know how to make him heal faster without making him dust faster too!” She sighed, and glanced over toward the door, which was shaking violently under the blows from the other side, then back down at the bed. What she saw made her gasp loudly, and immediately screw her eyes shut. “I can do this!” she chanted. “I can do this. Just don’t look. I can do this! Just don’t look! I can do this!” 

Ultimately ignoring her own advice, she opened one eye a crack, and watched with morbid fascination as her hands (seemingly of their own accord), quickly and efficiently cut away at Spike’s torso. The sounds at her door seemed to fade to a dull roar, as she cut a frighteningly large amount of flesh away from the vampire’s body. “Oh god, stop. Please stop!” she began begging the disobedient appendages after what seemed like forever. Then, her left hand grabbed Spike’s heart, which was quite obviously turning to dust, and her right hand viciously hacked it from his chest. “Noooo!”

For a moment, everything seemed to happen at once. Her head swam dizzily, and she slumped forward. She thought anxiously that she might fall into the pile of dust the man she loved seemed doomed to turn into. Then, everything seemed to slow to a grinding halt, and she stared hard at the cavernous wound. As she watched, she saw blood begin sluggishly flowing into the area, and concentrated hard on this sign of life, rather than the way the dead tissue around his empty chest cavity was still slowly turning to dust. “Heal, dammit! Spike! Please! Heal!” she stared intently at the pooling blood, and suddenly everything seemed to lurch into fast forward. The organs, muscles and skin began growing back so quickly that they seemed to flow across his torso, filling in the hole. The more Spike’s body repaired itself, the dizzier Dawn felt, until she finally had to rest her head on his lower abdomen as everything began to go dark. 

The last sound she heard was the loud crash of the door bursting open, and slamming violently against the wall beside it as all hell seemed to break loose. People were shouting, and she heard the muffled, pain filled roar of the demon as someone finally made a move to spill its oh-so-vital blood, and her heart sank. “Don’t let it bleed on the vampire s.” she warned weakly in case anyone was listening, before the darkness overwhelmed her.


	10. Chapter 10

The crushing, vice-like pain in her head was the first thing Dawn became aware of. She groaned weakly, and raised an extraordinarily heavy arm to rub her head. To her disgust, her hair was stringy, rather greasy, and plastered to her forehead. “What the hell?” she muttered, prying her eyes open to look around. Judging from the skull splitting headache, she half expected to find herself in a hospital bed, but was greatly relieved to see that she was in her own room, in her own comfortable bed. She tried to prop herself up, but found she was too weak to lift her head from the pillows. “God, what happened?” 

The ceiling stubbornly refused to answer, so she turned her head to the left, toward her windows, half expecting to see a huge, black, demonic bull lying on the lounge. “Skip!” Everything came back to her suddenly, and she turned her head to the right, fully expecting Spike to be in the bed with her. She’d seen his body healing itself before she’d blacked out. He  _ had _ to be okay. When she saw nothing but empty space beside her, she let out a choked, panicked sob. “No,” she whimpered softly. “Please, no! God, let him be alright! Please!” Her vision blurred as she began to sob helplessly.

“Dawn? Are you okay?” She heard Faith’s voice from the doorway, then hesitant footsteps moving toward the bed. “I should have known you’d finally decide to wake up when everyone else was out.,” the older girl muttered, but Dawn could hear the relief in her voice. “Are you in pain? Do you need anything? Dawnie? Talk to me, girl. I don’t know what to do!”

“M-my head,” Dawn finally managed to stop crying, and control her breathing enough to answer. “What happened to my head? Did somebody hit me?”

“You don’t remember what happened?” Faith came into view, sitting down on the empty side of the bed. “You saved Spike!”

“I did?!” Dawn tried to sit up again in her excitement, but was still helpless to move. “He’s okay?”

“Yeah, girlie. You fixed him up as good as new. Unfortunately, he’s still completely obnoxious. He’s been driving us all nuts.” Faith snorted scornfully.

“That’s the second time someone’s said that to me today.” Dawn chuckled softly.

“I doubt that, unless you really could hear what everyone’s been saying to you all this time.” Faith said dubiously. “Spike and Buffy both swore you could, but the rest of us weren’t so sure.”

“How long have I been out?” Dawn tried one last time, and managed to prop herself up on her elbows as she waited for the nervous looking slayer to respond.

“Umm, maybe I should go call your sis,” Faith jerked her thumb toward the door. “Or, you know, Spike should be back any minute. Angel dragged him out to buy blood. Poor guy, it’s the first time he’s left your side in wee-uh, in a long time, and you finally woke up!” 

“Weeks? Were you going to say  _ weeks _ ?!” Dawn shrieked, then grabbed her head as a fresh bolt of pain shot through her skull.

“Dammit, Slayer! I knew better than to leave her alone with you!” A familiar, and very welcome, voice yelled from the hallway. “You’ve got her all upset!”

“Spike!” Faith jumped nervously, spinning around to face the blond, who was now standing in the doorway, glaring at her. “You’re back!”

Spike ignored her completely and was at Dawn”s side, hugging her tightly, and kissing her forehead, in a heartbeat. One touch of his cool skin against her face confirmed that said heartbeat was  _ not _ his own. “Are you okay, baby? We’ve been so worried about you, luv!”

“I was going to say the same thing about you,” Dawn joked weakly, letting herself go limp in his arms. She looked him over thoroughly, and was happy to see that he seemed to be back to his usual self. His face and arms had filled out a bit since she’d last seen him, and she could tell that the torso hidden beneath his tight black t-shirt was once again as sleek and well muscled as always. “You look great!” she declared at last.

“I’m fine, luv, thanks to you.” Spike grinned, pulling away slightly to study her in turn. He smiled warmly at her after gazing at her for several seconds. “Oh, Dawn, you look so...”

“What?” Dawn asked self consciously, reaching up to touch her dirty hair again. “I know I look horrible. Apparently I’ve been in some kind of  _ coma _ for God knows how long,” she scoffed, looking at him embarrassedly.

“You could never look horrible,” Spike murmured, kissing her softly. “I just like looking at you. It’s about time you finally woke up. Do you know how worried everyone has been? If you didn’t wake up soon, I was going to try slapping you around,” he joked, winking playfully.

“How long?” Dawn asked impatiently, although she nearly purred with contentment when he slipped onto the bed behind her, and pulled her back to rest against his chest. She struggled to pull her feet up, and twisted so she could still see his face, loathe to take her eyes off him.

“Oh, only a minute or two...however long it took.” Spike winked again before taking pity on her. Growing more serious, he held her tighter, and replied, “You were out for nearly a month, luv.”

“What?!” Dawn shrieked, then groaned, and held her head again. This time the pain wasn’t quite as intense, and quickly faded to a dull roar. Suddenly, Faith shoved a glass of water, and a couple of small white pills in her face. Dawn hadn’t even noticed that she’d left the room.

“Tylenol 3. The good stuff. Codeine,” the slayer mumbled, waving her hand for Dawn to take them. 

“No,” Dawn shook her head. “That stuff knocks me out, and I don’t think I want to sleep anymore.”

“Althenea told us your head would probably feel like you ran it through a paper shredder if...uh...when you woke up,” Faith insisted stubbornly, pressing the pills into Dawn’s hand. “Take ‘em, or I’l just make you,” she ordered, her free hand on her hip, and her head cocked to the side challengingly. 

Dawn looked pleadingly at Spike, who shook his head, and held up a hand defensively. “Don’t look at me for help. I’d make you take three if it were up to me.”

Dawn pouted, but allowed Spike to prop her up more so she could swallow the pills. As soon as the water hit her throat, she realized how parched she was, and started gulping it eagerly. “Oh, no you don’t! Don’t drink too much at once!” Faith ordered, snatching the glass from her hand.

“What are you? Some kind of water Nazi?” Dawn grumbled, reaching for the glass. Faith stubbornly stepped out of her reach. “You have the bedside manner of an alarm clock with no off button!”

Faith rolled her eyes and snorted. “Dr. Wilcox said if...when you woke up, not to let you eat or drink too much, too fast. You’ve been living off an IV for so long, your stomach probably won”t be able to handle much at first,” she  explained, shrugging. “I’m just trying to make sure you don’t puke, ‘cuz I don’t see Spike or Angel cleaning it up.”

“‘ _ If _ I woke up?’” Dawn repeated angrily, noticing for the first time that there was, indeed, an IV in her left arm, attached to two clear bags hanging from a pole beside her bed. “That’s twice you’ve said that now. Everyone gave up on me, didn’t they?” she demanded, glaring accusingly at them. 

Faith looked down at the floor, guilt written all over her face, but Spike’s eyes blazed angrily. “I never gave up on you! I knew you’d come back to me.” He gently cupped her head in his hands, and kissed her briefly, but passionately, on the lips. “If I thought you weren’t going to wake up, I would have walked out into the next sunrise, and you know it!” He growled emphatically. After this declaration, he immediately captured her lips again, stroking and teasing her tongue with his own until she was moaning breathlessly.

“I think that’s my cue to leave,” Faith muttered in the background. “I’ll just go call the doctor and the little mama.  I’ll even make you some soup or something, Dawnie, But I’m not cleaning it up if you hurl. You’ll just have to wait until Nurse Hatchet comes back. Speaking of lousy bedside manners...” she muttered to herself as she scurried quickly toward the door. 

When Dawn pulled away from Spike to breath, she noticed Angel lurking in the hallway just outside the room, and when he saw her looking at him, he started guiltily, and ducked his head, then slowly shuffled into the room. “Hey, Dawn. You’re awake,” he observed needlessly, then smiled sheepishly. “I guess you know that.”

“Yeah, she figured it out, you git.” Spike snorted, gently rubbing Dawn”s shoulders. “Wouldn’t be the first time she caught on to something long before it could penetrate that thick skull of yours,” he added with a playful smirk.

“How many times do I have to say I’m sorry?” Angel asked the younger vampire exasperatedly. “Yes, I was wrong! How was I supposed to know that the Key was some kind of living entity, and  _ technically _ the oldest one here.” When Dawn and Spike both snickered, he exclaimed, “Hey, Giles and Willow got it wrong too!” Suddenly, his expression sobered, and he stared down at the floor again. “I’m really, really sorry about the Mohra,” he mumbled. 

“It’s not your fault,” Spike said softly. “Everyone thought-”

“Dawn didn’t. Somehow she figured out just what to do.” Angel smiled warmly at Dawn, and she blushed.

“Don’t feel bad, Angel. My fairy god-demon pretty much had to spell it out for me,” Dawn admitted sheepishly, glancing absently at the lounge again.

“Your  _ who _ did what?” Spike asked, frowning thoughtfully.

“This demon-y looking guy showed up here, and told me I was the only one who could save you,” Dawn reached around, and cupped Spike’s cheek in her hand. “Actually, I dreamed about him before he actually came here. He even showed me a preview of myself with your...your guts in my hands.” She shuddered at the memory.

“‘Demon-y looking guy?’” Angel repeated, looking stunned. “A  _ demon _ told you to hack Spike to pieces, and you just went ahead, and got a knife, and-”

“Well, I did get the knife, but I didn’t do the actual hacking,” Dawn explained meekly. “It was the Key.”

“ _ You’re _ the Key. We found you with blood and bits of flesh all over you,” Angel pointed out incredulously. Dawn moaned softly, and cuddled closer to Spike, trying to reassure herself that she hadn’t been as stupid as it all sounded out loud; he  _ had _ come through unscathed.

“Shut up, you git!” Spike growled at Angel, shifting into game face for a moment as he wrapped his arms around her more tightly. “It doesn’t matter how she figured it out! It worked didn’t it? A hell of a lot better than your plan!”

Angel wilted visibly, and Dawn grew suspicious. “What went wrong with your plan? I mean, other than the fact that it  _ would have killed Spike _ .” She couldn’t resist the urge to take another jab at Angel after he’d been so arrogant about his plan. She felt a small thrill of satisfaction when he lowered his head shamefacedly. “Obviously neither of you got any of its blood on you, so what happened? Did it hurt someone?”

“No, no, the demon didn’t hurt anyone. Faith heard what you said before you passed out, and when she saw that Spike was already healed, she realized you knew what you were talking about, and pushed me away from it before I got any blood on me. She, Buffy and Xander managed to drag it outside, and it ran away. We haven’t seen or heard from it since.” Angel shrugged, looking extremely uncomfortable. “That Faith’s a pretty smart girl,” he added, looking sideways at the doorway. 

“In most respects,” Spike muttered under his breath, but loudly enough for both Dawn and Angel to hear. Dawn looked at Angel curiously, but he just smirked at Spike, looking even more smug than usual. She never would have guessed it was possible.

“Spike, what happened?” Dawn turned to him, knowing she’d never get any useful information from Angel while he was in and evasive mode, which he seemed to be;. He was clearly suffering from a massive case of ‘just plain weird,’ to boot.

Spike sighed mournfully and lowered his head to her shoulder for a moment. Dawn waited impatiently and finally nudged him gently with her elbow when she couldn’t stand the suspense anymore. When he finally met her eyes, he said, “It’s Willow, pet.”

“What happened to Willow?” Dawn asked nervously, sitting up straighter.

“We’re not  exactly sure,” Angel admitted quietly. “She just kind of disappeared after she and Giles did the spell to teleport Faith here with the Mohra.”

“So  _ that’s _ how she got it here so fast!” Dawn exclaimed triumphantly. “I knew something didn’t add up there!” When both vampires looked at her with thinly veiled amusement, she blushed, and mumbled. “So, continue...did she disappear like ‘puff of smoke,’ disappeared or ‘ran off into the night,’ disappeared?”

“Well, they finished the spell, and they were both pretty wiped out, so they went to lie down for a while in my room. When Giles woke up a few hours later, she was gone.” Angel shrugged. “We were all pretty distracted, getting the demon out of the building, making sure Spike was okay, and cleaning up your room. No one saw her leave, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she didn’t just walk out.”

“Nobody’s heard from her? What if something took her?” Dawn asked worriedly. 

“Giles has been looking for weeks, but there’s no sign of her anywhere. None of our contacts in the demon world have heard a thing. She’s just  _ gone _ .” Spike shrugged helplessly. “Althenea doesn’t know where she is, but the psychics in the coven agree that she’s not sick, injured, or dead. She’s just nowhere to be found,” he sighed frustratedly.

“She feels guilty because we made you so much sicker,” Dawn groaned, remembering her last conversation, or rather, confrontation with Willow. “I bet she’s slipped dimensions again, to avoid facing us.”

Angel buried his face in his hands, rubbing his face wearily, and mumbling, “I still can’t believe she can do that,” he sighed. “How can someone block out everyone in the world just to avoid dealing with their mistakes?” he asked earnestly when he looked back up at them.

“Hey, maybe when she comes back, she can teach you how, Peaches.” Spike joked weakly. No one laughed.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable, heavy silence, Dawn asked curiously, “Uh, not to sound ungrateful, but why aren’t I in the hospital? Isn’t that where all the good little coma patients  _ usually _ go?”

“Who said you were a  _ good _ little coma patient?” Spike winked playfully, then ducked when she balled up a fist, and waved it threateningly at him. Grabbing her hand, he kissed her knuckles, and murmured. “You were the perfect patient, baby. I just meant you weren’t exactly in a coma.”

“You were asleep,” Angel explained patiently, smiling slightly over the younger vampires antics. “Buffy brought in one of the Council’s doctors when it became pretty obvious that you weren’t going to wake up after the first day or so. We didn’t know how to explain to an, uh,  _ unenlightened _ doctor why a healthy, uninjured teenage girl had gone into hibernation.”

“Hibernation?” Dawn giggled. “I thought I was a Key, not a bear.”

“It’s the closest explanation he could give for what was wrong with you. You put so much of yourself into saving me-” Spike’s voice cracked, and Dawn saw tears forming in the corners of his eyes. “You almost killed yourself, Dawn. Your body had to shut down so it could recharge.” His arms tightened around her for a moment, and he buried his face in the side of her neck, inhaling deeply. “Another few seconds...if Buffy hadn’t pulled you away from me when she did, I’d have lost you.”

“I almost died?” Dawn asked quietly, leaning heavily into Spike’s embrace as a chill swept through her.

“Very nearly,” Angel answered uncomfortably. “Your heart nearly stopped for a moment after Buffy pulled you away, and your breathing slowed way down. Your vitals reverted to normal after a minute or two, but you wouldn’t wake up. Everyone was beginning to think you would never come out of it, except Spike, Buffy and Althenea,” he admitted sheepishly.

“I guess that’s why I feel like I was frozen in liquid carbonite,” Dawn muttered, to break another long, awkward silence which followed this confession, then looked up in horror. “You guys didn’t happen to let Andrew in here while I was out, by any chance?”

Spike winced, and looked up guiltily. “Only for a little while. Just to shut him the hell up,” he added irritably, rolling his eyes. “Sorry, luv. He was driving me crazy!”

“So you sacrificed my sanity to save your own? If I end up building my own lightsaber, I’m totally using it on you,” Dawn pouted, crossing her arms across her chest.

“Oh, come on, you know Spike’s sanity is a lot more fragile than yours, Dawn,” Angel observed, winking at Spike, who snorted, but then nodded sheepishly, making it very difficult for Dawn to maintain her angry demeanor.

Just then, they heard a loud commotion in the living room. Spike’s eyes widened comically, and he instantly grew serious. “Uh, it looks like Xan and the little...um, Dawn, there’s something you should know about your sis-” he spoke quickly as Buffy’s excited voice rapidly began drawing nearer.

“Now what? Is she sick? Did she grow a second head?” Dawn grumbled. “I’m sick of surprises!”

“Uh, maybe you’d better just close your eyes for the next four months or so, then,” Angel snickered quietly, and Spike slapped him upside the head.

“Shut up, you! I’m trying to warn her before she sees Buffy so she won’t-” Spike hissed at his Sire ferociously.

Dawn paid attention to this exchange with only a small portion of her mind. The remainder of her mental functions seemed to shut down when her sister ran into the room, with Xander hot on her heels. “Buffy? You got  _ fat _ ?!” she exclaimed, bursting into helpless, slightly hysterical giggles. Spike had her really worried for a minute there, but the fact that her sister appeared to have majorly overindulged in the last few weeks hardly seemed worth mentioning. She was so happy to see that there was nothing seriously wrong, that she couldn’t help the giddy laughter that rose up in her chest.

“So she wouldn’t say something like  _ that _ !” Spike sighed tiredly, throwing up his hands in disgust as Buffy burst into tears.


	11. Chapter 11

“Hoooo, boy!” Angel whistled quietly. “I’m gonna go help Faith with that soup!” he announced, rushing out of the room.

“Thanks a lot, chickenshit!” Xander grumbled as he wrapped his arms around the frantically sobbing blonde who was currently using the remarkably fashionable, silky-looking, green shirt he was wearing as a handkerchief. “Buffy, honey, you’re not fat. Sweetie, she doesn’t know! Please stop crying!” Buffy heedlessly continued sobbing into his chest, and Xander’s eyes suddenly lit up mischievously as he began to speak again. “Honey, if you keep doing this to all of my new clothes, I’m going to hunt down my old ones.” His tone was soft, and very deliberate as he wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

Buffy immediately stepped away from him, and wiped her eyes as her sobs began to subside. “You wouldn’t dare!” She chuckled weakly as she turned toward the bed. 

“Buff, I’m sorry!” Dawn apologized, staring guiltily at her sister. “I mean, you’re not really that fat...” Her eyes bulged as she got a really good look at her sister’s extremely swollen stomach. If she didn’t know better, she’d think it looked like-

“Your sister is five months pregnant, luv,” Spike murmured quietly in her ear.

“How the heck did that happen?!” Dawn yelped, pointing at her sister’s abdomen. Buffy narrowed her eyes and smirked, tilting her head to one side. “I mean, I know  _ how _ it happens, but, well, you just weren’t four months pregnant when I fell asleep, so what the heck happened?”’

“I was the first one to try to pull you away from Spike,” Buffy said with a small smile, moving closer to the side of the bed. “When I grabbed you, I felt this weird sort of jolt or something, but it faded away when I laid you on the floor. I didn’t notice  _ this _ -” she gestured at her enlarged stomach. “...until after we got rid of the demon. Dr. Wilcox did an ultrasound, and he said I appeared to be about four months pregnant, at the time. Giles and Althenea think I must have gotten hit by all the energy you were pouring into Spike, and it fast forwarded the pregnancy by a few months.”

“I did that?” Dawn gasped, still pointing at Buffy’s stomach in disbelief.

Xander grinned, and wrapped his arms around Buffy from behind, caressing the rounded bulge lovingly. “Actually,  _ I  _ did this, thank you very much. You just sped it up,” he declared proudly, and winked at Dawn.

“Oh my god!” Dawn suddenly realized that Xander was no longer wearing his eye patch, and he had winked his left eye at her, which was, of course, the eye Caleb had taken. “How did you-” She squealed delightedly, and smacked the side of her forehead as the answer hit her. “You were the one who stabbed the Mohra! It made your eye grow back!” She bounced excitedly on the bed, and Spike growled, and tried to pin her down.

“Take it easy, luv!” he grumbled, putting his hands on her shoulders to try to hold her in place.

Xander laughed happily, and said, “The Mohra wasn’t a complete waste of time.” Buffy teared up again slightly upon hearing this, and wrapped her arm around his waist, smiling adoringly up at him. 

“Wow!” Dawn looked back and forth between the smiling pair. “That’s just...Wow!” She opened her arms, and gestured for them to come closer, and they both threw themselves at her, wrapping her in an enthusiastic double hug. “Congratulations!” she wheezed as they squeezed most of the air from her lungs. 

“Thanks!” Buffy squeaked happily, then pulled back to look anxiously at Dawn. “How are you feeling? Are you okay? I was starting to think you might miss the whole pregnancy. We were going to put her in here with you so the crying would wake you up, if you didn’t wake up before the birth.”

Dawn laughed. “I’m okay. I kind of felt like my arms and legs were made of lead when I first woke up, but I’m feeling better already.” She waved her arms around to demonstrate, and then pushed into an upright position, ignoring Spike’s protests. “I’m kind of hungry though, and if someone doesn’t get this stupid IV out I’m going to do it myself!” She poked irritably at the tape holding the thin tube in her arm. The longer she was awake, the more normal she felt, and now she just wanted to take a shower, and attack the nearest hamburger.

“Whoa!” Spike protested. “Take it easy, Dawn.”

“I feel okay, really!” Dawn laughed. “Grungy, but okay!”

“You really should take it easy at first,’ Buffy said warningly, exchanging a significant look with Spike. “You don’t want to wear yourself out by doing too much too soon.”

“Can I at least take a shower?” Dawn pouted, rolling her eyes.

“How about a bath?” Spike countered. When she shot him an annoyed look, he ran his tongue along his teeth, and added in a low, husky voice. “I’ll wash your hair for you.”

“Okay!” Dawn agreed eagerly.

“No way!” Buffy and Xander protested in unison, their jaws dropping open simultaneously.

“Buffy, I thought you said you weren’t gonna do this?” Dawn tilted her head to the side, and stared her sister down.

For several seconds Buffy met her gaze defiantly, but then she sighed, and rolled her eyes. “Fine. But no funny business!” She looked at Spike expectantly, and he immediately nodded.

“I’m not stupid, you know,” he retorted grouchily. “I wouldn’t do anything to risk her health.”

“I know that.” Buffy smiled softly at him. “But you aren’t exactly the poster child for will power, either.”

“I’ve waited this long. I can wait as long as it takes,” Spike replied confidently, gently rubbing Dawn’s back as he spoke.

“Why don’t you use the tub in my bathroom,” Buffy suggested, apparently giving in completely. “It’s bigger than the one in the hall bathroom.”

“You should have a crown. ‘Bloody Queen of Mixed Messages!’” Spike snorted, but slipped off the bed and started for the door. “You stay there. I’m gonna go run your bath and then I’ll come get you.,” he ordered, pointing at Dawn until she rolled her eyes and nodded. 

“He really cares about you, Dawnie,” Buffy murmured after the vampire had left. “He barely left your side while you were out. He didn’t want you to wake up without him here.” She smiled, gazing thoughtfully toward the door. 

“Awww!” Dawn groaned. “But I did. Angel made him leave to get blood or something, and I woke up.” She shrugged sadly. “I guess I blew it.”

“Nah.” Xander shook his head, and reached over to rub her shoulder. “Having you wake up just made his century. Doesn’t matter who was here when it happened. We’re  _ all _ just ecstatic to finally have you back!” He smiled warmly at her, and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. 

Dawn blushed slightly, embarrassed by all the attention. “Um, Buffy, can you help me change into my bathrobe?” Pushing away the covers, she groaned disgustedly, and yanked them back up. “God, would it have killed you guys to shave my legs?!” 

“Well, gee, I would have but I didn’t think Buffy would approve,” Xander chuckled, standing up. “I’m gonna go see what’s taking Faith and Angel so long with that soup.” He jerked his thumb toward the door, and then retreated quickly, leaving the two women alone as Buffy crossed to Dawn’s closet to retrieve her robe.

“They’re probably too distracted to concentrate on cooking,” Buffy mumbled to herself as she came back to Dawn’s side and tossed the robe on the bed.

“Do either of them even know how to cook?” Dawn wondered aloud.

Buffy smiled affectionately at her and said, “Don’t worry, Xander will make sure you get something to eat as soon as your done your bath, sweetie.”

“Yeah, he is good that way,” Dawn mused as she pulled the robe toward herself. “How am I going to take this off with this stupid thing?” she asked impatiently, tugging on the front of her nightgown, and then pointing irritably at the IV in her arm.

Buffy looked at it thoughtfully for a moment and then sighed. “I think it’s probably safe to take it out.” She smiled at Dawn’s triumphant ‘cabbage patch,’ then scolded gently, “Hold still or this’ll really hurt!” With the efficiency of someone with years of practice removing her own IVs, she quickly removed the surgical tape, and pulled the flexible needle from Dawn’s arm, causing only a slight twinge of pain. 

“Thanks, sis!” Dawn beamed at her older sister. She held a tissue over the area while Buffy ran for a bandage, and then quickly slipped her nightgown over her head. “Um, what’s with the lack of undies?” She asked as she slipped her arms into the sleeves of the dark green terry cloth robe Buffy handed her, and tied it shut.

“You don’t want to know. Just trust me, it was easier that way,” Buffy answered, chewing on her lip, and waving her hand around vaguely.

“What was easier? God, what did you guys do while I was asleep?” Dawn teased, realizing there were probably certain aspects of her care while she was unconscious that she would rather not know about.  _ Ever _ . She figured she was probably lucky that she hadn’t woken up in a diaper or something. 

Buffy snorted. ‘Well, I can’t answer for Spike...” She winked, then shook her head dismissively, and laughed when Dawn mock gasped, and clutched her hand to her chest. “And as far as the nurses are concerned, you probably  _ really _ don’t want to know.”

Dawn laughed embarrassedly. “Nurses? So  _ you _ didn’t have to-”

“Noooooo! A world of no!” Buffy laughed. “Change of subject, please.” She shuddered. “I leave other people’s personal hygiene completely up to them, thank you very much!”

“You know, you’re going to have to change the baby’s diapers and stuff,” Dawn giggled, relieving her own discomfort by taking advantage of her sister’s.

“Uh uh! That’s Xander’s job. I’ll feed the baby, he’ll take care of the other end.” Buffy smiled sweetly, looking very satisfied with herself. 

“What if Xander’s not around? What if he gets stuck in an elevator for a week and a half? You’re gonna make that poor baby sit around in wet nappies, waiting for Daddy?” Spike asked from the doorway, smirking knowingly when Buffy bit her lip. Turning to Dawn he said “I’ve asked her that three times now, and she still hasn’t answered. You might want to invest heavily in diaper rash cream.” He flipped his eyebrows playfully, and Dawn giggled.

“You’re a brat!” Buffy scowled at him, pushing him gently to the side as she headed out the door. “I would think you’d have better things to do than pick on a poor, emotional, very hormonal  _ slayer _ ” She emphasized her words heavily, and when he swallowed nervously, she smiled triumphantly, and kissed him playfully on the cheek. “If Xander gets stuck somewhere, I’ll just make Uncle Spikey change the ‘nappies,’” she announced brightly. With that, she skipped, as lightly as she could in her present condition, out the door.

Spike watched her go with an odd look on his face, then swallowed heavily again, and turned back toward Dawn. “Come on, luv. Let’s get you in the tub.” He smiled a bit weakly, and walked over to the bed.

“Are you okay?” Dawn murmured, stroking his cheek. To her surprise, instead of picking her up as she’d expected, Spike slipped his arm around her waist, and helped her stand up. She smiled gratefully at him as she rose, slightly wobbly, to her feet.

“I’m fine, luv. You?” He grinned at her as she leaned into him, trying to adjust to being upright again as the room seemed to sway wildly for a moment or two. Despite her disorientation, Dawn noticed that the grin didn’t reach his eyes.

“You said you wanted babies,” she pushed the issue as they started walking slowly toward the door. With each step she felt her strength returning, and by the time they reached the door, she was able to fully support her own weight. Smiling shyly, she slipped her arm from Spike’s shoulders to his waist, and bumped her hip against his playfully before they stepped into the hallway. “Spike? Are you okay?”

Spike rolled his eyes, and leaned over to kiss her briefly on the lips. “I’ll be okay. I only had about five minutes to think I might get to be human. I’ve had a month to get over it.” He shrugged slightly, kissed her again, and grimaced. “No offense, but you really need to brush your teeth, too.”

Dawn gasped, and covered her mouth. “Oh my god! You people are the worst group of medical caregivers ever!” When she saw his eyes twinkling mischievously, she lowered her hand, and smacked him in the stomach with it. “That’s not nice. Buffy’s right, you are a brat!” she scolded as he began laughing heartily. “After everything I did for you, this is how you show your appreciation?” She pulled away from him with an irritable grunt, and crossed her arms, glaring petulantly at him. 

“Sorry, luv. You know I’m a bad, bad man.” He grinned shamelessly, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, guiding her into Buffy’s room, and then the master bathroom. He had filled the large garden tub with hot water and rich, vanilla scented bubble bath. There were dozens of lit candles sitting on the marble ledge surrounding the tub, and on the vanity on the other side of the room, filing the room with soft, flickering light. “Let me make it up to you?” He gestured at the tub, and leaned over to turn the water off.

Dawn smiled grudgingly, then laughed. “Okay, but can you go get my shampoo from the other bathroom for me? I hate the stuff Buffy uses. Too fruity.” She blushed when he looked down at the tie on her robe, knowing that  _ he _ knew she was too embarrassed to remove it in front of him, yet. She just wondered if he knew about her hairy legs.

“Will do, luv,” Spike replied softly. “I’ll be right back. Take it easy, no cannonballs into the tub or anything,” he ordered with a wink before he ducked back out the door.

Letting out a soft sigh of relief, Dawn immediately dropped her robe to the floor, and climbed into the tub. “Oh God, that’s good,” she moaned happily as the hot water soothed muscles she hadn’t even noticed were aching. Deciding that Buffy would forgive her for borrowing her razor just this once, she quickly took care of her leg problem, finishing just before Spike stepped back into the room. 

“How’s the water?” he asked, licking his lips, seemingly unconsciously, as he gazed at her from the doorway. 

“You could come find out,” Dawn invited, reaching toward him. 

Spike smirked, and sauntered across the room. “I think maybe that’s a bad idea. For now.” He shrugged apologetically, and nodded his head back toward the hallway. “It sounded like the mother hens were getting a tray together for you when I walked by the living room.” He rolled his eyes slightly, and knelt beside the tub. “I believe I promised to wash your hair, though,” he reminded her when she pouted at him. 

“Fine,” Dawn smirked at him. “Take your shirt off, though.”

“Oooh, bossy.” He winked, obeying immediately. “Planning on getting me wet?” he asked as he pulled the spray nozzle from the side of the tub, and pushed gently on her shoulders to get her to scoot down further. 

“It’s only fair. I don’t have a shirt, why should you have one?” Dawn giggled, staring unabashedly at his chest out of the corner of her eye when he leaned over to wet her hair. 

“Did I ever tell you how much I admire your sense of justice?” Spike chuckled. Dropping the sprayer with a loud ‘thunk’ that made Dawn jump slightly, he flipped open the shampoo, and poured some into his hand. “C’mere, lean back...” He patted the side of the tub, then looked around and grabbed a towel, placing it on the ledge, and gently tilting her head back until she relaxed against the side of the tub. “I love your hair,” he sighed contentedy as he began carefully rubbing the flower scented lather into her slightly tangled locks. 

“Now, I know for a fact you used that line on Buffy,” Dawn scolded jokingly, tilting her head back to look at him. 

“So? I like girls’ hair.” He shrugged, unconcerned. “Yours is bloody gorgeous. So long, and smooth, and silky. Well, it usually is, he conceded when she snorted scornfully. “It’s absolutely stunning, just like the rest of you,” he added seriously. “I never wanted to admit it, but when you used to wear those little tops, the ones with the straps, and your hair would flow down around those bare shoulders...” As he spoke, his hands slid down to caress her collarbones, and Dawn shivered deliciously. “God, that was sexy,” he growled huskily, leaning over, and kissing her somewhat awkwardly, upside down.

Dawn moaned and sat up, twisting around to wrap her arms around his neck as she pressed her lips to his for a proper kiss, which soon evolved into something anything  _ but _ proper. Their tongues and teeth collided as they eagerly tried to merge together, both of them gasping and moaning loudly in the echo-y room. After a few moments, Dawn rose to her knees so she could lean closer and press her chest against Spike’s, thrilling over the sensation of her nipples grazing over his bare chest. Spike apparently approved of this as well, growling quietly, and ducking his head to take one into his mouth. As his lips closed around her over sensitive flesh, Dawn grabbed his head in her hands, and threw her head back, groaning loudly.

“Oh my god!” Dawn’s eyes flew open in horror at the sound of her sister’s voice, and Spike immediately sat up, bumping his head on her chin as he spun around. “I thought you weren’t going to fool around in here?” Buffy asked, tapping her foot expectantly as she balanced a folding tray on her hip, and glared at them.

“Um...he was washing my hair?” Dawn said lamely, sinking back down until the bubbles were up to her painfully throbbing chin.

“Okay, for one thing, Spike, you’re a vampire, not a cat!” Buffy snapped, jabbing her finger at the blond, who flinched guiltily. “And for another,” she added, pointing at Dawn, “if you’ve got so much hair on your...your  _ boobs _ ...” She spat out the word as if it was bitter in her mouth. “...that it requires washing, you’ve got more problems than I ever suspected!” she finished, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly.

Dawn and Spike stared at each other, eyes wide, and then burst out laughing. “Jeez, you scared me, you dork!” Dawn yelled, throwing a wet sponge at her sister when she finally broke down laughing as well. 

“You’re not mad, right?” Spike asked a bit more cautiously, inching across the floor toward his previously abandoned t-shirt.

“Well, I’m not exactly thrilled about seeing my baby sister like that, but I won fifty bucks off Xander because  _ you _ got as far as taking your shirt off,” Buffy giggled, helpfully kicking said shirt toward him with her toe as she spoke. Setting down the tray, she said “Against my better judgment, Xan made you grilled cheese with tomatoes and bacon to go with your soup. If you throw up, try to aim for  _ him _ .” She winked at Dawn, then walked out of the room, murmuring to herself. “‘Washing her hair.’ I’m pregnant, not  _ stupid _ .”


	12. Chapter 12

Spike turned to Dawn, his eyes wide with amazement. “Wow, that went better than I expected.”

“Xander wasn’t here,” Dawn pointed, cringing a bit at the thought.

Spike shivered and nodded thoughtfully. “It’s probably a good thing we’ll be moving to London soon.”

Dawn gasped, staring at him incredulously. “You’re going to move with me?” She tried unsuccessfully to squelch the ridiculously doofy grin his words had evoked.

Tossing his t-shirt back on the floor, Spike stalked slowly back to the side of the tub. Kneeling in front of her, he took her head in his hands, and looked into her eyes. “Wherever you go, I go. You’re stuck with me. Like it or not.” He winked, cocking his head to the side playfully.

“I like,” Dawn breathed, leaning forward to brush her lips softly against his. “Love it, actually.”

“I love you, Dawn,” Spike’s lips brushed against hers before he pulled her even closer, forcing her mouth firmly against his in a hard, possessive kiss. 

Before they could get too carried away, Dawn’s stomach suddenly, and loudly, reminded her that she still hadn’t had anything to eat. “Sorry,” she muttered, pressing her reddened cheek against Spike’s chest. 

“Let’s get you back in your room so you can eat properly,” Spike suggested, not bothering to hide his amusement when Dawn’s stomach growled again. “And quickly,” he added, pretending to cringe in fear.

“Not my room,” Dawn complained as she stood up, and stepped out of the tub. She arched her brow challengingly at Spike, who merely looked slowly up and down her body before reaching out to grab her a towel.

“Where to, then?” He wrapped the fluffy material around her, and snagged another, which he used to carefully dry her arms and legs before wrapping it around her hair.

“The roof,” Dawn replied. “There’s-”

“The garden.” Spike nodded knowingly, startling her for a moment until she remembered that he had been here for a month. “Good idea, Pet.” Finishing his task, he dropped the towel on the nearby vanit, and stepped in front of her. “You should probably put some clothes on; as much as I like you like  _ this _ .” His tongue curled behind his teeth, and he looked up at her through his eyelashes as he trailed a finger along the top of the towel wrapped around her torso, causing her stomach to flutter deliciously. 

The loud rumble that immediately followed helpfully reminded her to focus on the task at hand.  _ Get. Food. Now _ . Smirking slightly, she glanced to the side, and reached out to snag half of the sandwich from its place on the tray. “Food, clothes, roof...then play time,” she spelled out her plans for the rest of the evening around a mouthful of what had to be the most delicious grilled cheese with bacon and tomato sandwich that had ever been made.

“Sounds perfect, luv,” Spike scooped up his shirt, picked up the tray, and gestured for Dawn to precede him back to her bedroom. The sandwich was gone by the time he closed her bedroom door behind them. “Hungry, pet?” The vampire stuck his lip out in mock sympathy when Dawn glared accusingly at the empty plate. 

“The next time you go a month without eating, you can tease me,” Dawn grumbled. Dropping the towel, she tried to look casual as she rifled through her dresser drawers, pulling out a red t-shirt, a red, lacy bra with matching underwear that she had always hoped to model for someone special some day, and a pair of cute, but comfortable, black cotton shorts. She proceeded to dress as quickly as she thought she could without too obviously hurrying.

Spike rolled his eyes slightly, and strolled toward her from the side of the bed, where he’d placed the tray. Resting his hands gently on her shoulders, he dipped his head slightly, and forced her to meet his eye. “I don’t want you to do anything you’re not comfortable with, luv.”

“What do you mean?” Dawn’s voice shook slightly, and she gave a mental cringe.

“I can hear your heart,” Spike smirked, sliding his right hand down to rest on her chest, just above her breast. “Thought you were going to have a heart attack during that little show you just put on.”

“I wasn’t putting on...” Dawn began, then trailed off sheepishly. Sighing heavily, she stepped closer to him, and rested her forehead on his chest, directly under his chin. “Why doesn’t the earth ever open up and try to swallow you whole when you actually  _ want _ it to?”

Spike chuckled, and wrapped his arms around her tightly. “Hey, believe me, you have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“But?” Dawn stiffened slightly.

“I’m not sure you’re ready for this.” Cool fingers under her chin forced her to meet his concerned gaze. “I know that you know about my history with Dru, and Buffy.” He swallowed uncomfortably. “I don’t want you thinking you have to...to move too fast, just for my sake. That’s not what I want from you, baby.”

At his words, Dawn stood up straighter, pulling away from him, every muscle tensing further as she stared at him in confusion. “You don’t want- But, before...” She gestured slightly toward Buffy’s room, across the hall. “I thought you...” Feeling her lip begin to quiver, she abruptly turned away from him, crossing the room to look for something, anything in her cluttered closet.

“Dawn!” Spike’s sudden appearance in the closet door caused her to jump a mile, and she immediately turned away again to hide her hurt and confusion. “Dawn!” Refusing to let her block him out, Spike zipped around her again, and caught her shoulders in his hands before she could turn again. “I didn’t mean I don’t want you that way. I do. I really,  _ really  _ do. What I meant was, I don’t want to push you into a physical relationship. That’s all I’ve ever done...jump right in. When Dru turned me, she...” He trailed off, rolling his head back slowly to gaze at the ceiling. “Well, that was almost entirely physical, right from the start. I didn’t know her at all when we started,and she didn’t care if we had anything in common, or if I even wanted to do the same things she did. Vampires just aren’t like that. Normal vampires, anyway. It was all about  _ ownership _ , about her having power over me. Later, we were more equal, and I did love her, but it was never just about our feelings for each other. And...and as for your sister-”

“Enough! I get it!” Dawn raised her hand, covering his mouth gently with her palm. Smiling sheepishly, she said, “You’ve never had a chance to develop a real relationship with someone  _ before _ you slept with them. Even though you had feelings for Buffy, she didn’t really give you a chance, or get to know you for  _ you, _ until way after she started sleeping with you.” 

“Not even then,” Spike shrugged dismissively. Pulling her closer, he wrapped his arms around her, rested his head on her shoulder, and began gently stroking her damp hair. “You’re the one, Dawn. You’re my chance to get things right. I don’t want to risk messing that up by pushing you.”

“But what if you’re not pushing?” Dawn jumped in, pulling back slightly to look him in the eye. He raised a questioning eyebrow, and she smiled slyly, shaking her head ever so slightly. “Spike, I did feel nervous. And a little embarrassed. But not because I’m not ready, or uncomfortable with this...with  _ us _ . I just got nervous because I’ve never dated anyone I actually planned to sleep with before. I was a little worried that maybe you wouldn’t like what you saw. It wasn’t that I felt like I  _ had _ to strip for you, I just wasn’t sure how to do it so you’d think it was sexy-” She was cut off by a harsh but nonetheless passionate kiss as Spike pushed her up against the frame of the closet door. He proceeded to explore her tonsils with his tongue for several minutes before he finally stepped back to allow her to catch her breath. “H-holy cow!”

“Don’t ever doubt that I find you sexy, Dawn.” His serious expression lightened when she blushed and squirmed under his intense gaze. “I want you so much it hurts, so don’t ever doubt that.” Catching her trying to check out the front of his tight blue jeans, he rolled his eyes, and smirked at her. “We’ll take things as fast or as slow as you want, pet. I’ll do whatever you want.”

Dawn immediately broke out in a huge grin. “What if I want you to run down the street to Ennio’s and get me some eggplant parmesan? I’m still starving!” Giggling, she ducked under Spike’s arm, and scrambled to the far side of her bed when he growled in mock annoyance, and tried to grab her by the waist.

“You’re a brat.” He smirked sexily at her, and she felt her knees weakening.

“Yeah, well, I spent my tender developmental years hanging out with this really obnoxious thug...” she retorted, winking playfully.

“Is that so?” Jumping across the bed in another startling display of speed, he hooked one hand behind her neck, and brought his other hand to her hip, tracing small circles there with his thumb. “A  _ thug _ , was he?”

“Well, that’s what he wanted everyone to think,” Dawn murmured as he leaned in, pressing her against the wall beside the window, and began nuzzling her neck. “It turned out he was really my Prince Charming in disguise.” 

Spike growled, low in his throat and gently nipped her neck. “Let’s keep that our little secret, eh, Pet? I have an image to uphold.”

“Ah!” Dawn gasped. Spike was suckling on her neck, and she forgot for a moment what they were talking about. “I don’t think...mmm...anybody’s fooled by the ‘Big Bad’ routine anymore.”

“Hey, I’m still bad,” ‘he pouted, pulling away from her a little bit so she could see his face.

“I’m sure you are, sweetie,” Dawn giggled. “Why don’t you go get me something else to eat, and then maybe I’ll let you show me what a bad boy you are.”

Spike’s eyes widened slightly and he struggled to fight back a beatific smile. “Really?”

“Well,” Dawn looked at the floor shyly. “Not, like,  _ everything _ . No, um, major felonies, yet. I was thinking a few minor misdemeanors?”

Spike chuckled, and shook his head, smiling affectionately at her. “That is the most bizarre euphamism I have ever heard, but I think I get it. Let’s go call Ennio’s, and then we can have a little moonlight picnic on the roof.” As he spoke, he began pulling her toward the door.

“You are the best boyfriend ever!” Dawn squealed, hugging him tight enough to knock the wind out of a human male. “I love you!”

“Aren’t I the  _ only _ boyfriend you’ve had?” Spike snorted skeptically, but his eyes betrayed his happiness at her words. When she released him, he pulled open the door with a flourish. “Oh, bloody hell! We don’t need you here anymore! Get out!”

“Andrew?!” Dawn groaned. “What the hell is he doing here?” 

“Bloody idiot has been helping us research mystical comas. As well as being a rather large pain in my ass,” Spike answered, glaring at the younger man, who stood in the hallway, continuing to smile delightedly despite their exchange.

“Dawnie! You’re awake!” Andrew beamed, moving closer, arms wide in an attempt to hug her. Dawn thanked her lucky stars for Spike, who easily held the over eager Watcher at bay.

“I noticed,” Dawn shot back sarcastically, suddenly remembering that she was more than usually annoyed with him.

Andrew blinked. “Are you mad at me?”he asked after she glared at him for a moment or two. “Why?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because you didn’t bother to tell me that the guy  _ you knew _ I am in love with wasn’t dead anymore? You didn’t tell me he had been  _ here _ ! In my own apartment! You jackass!” Dawn was seething, and Andrew wisely flinched away from her, ducking behind Spike, who stepped out of the way with an evil grin, leaving her free to attack if she chose to do so. Dawn rolled her eyes, and grabbed Spike’s arm, jerking him toward the living room. “Get out of here, Andrew. You idiot!”

“He told me not to tell anyone he was alive! He said he wanted Buffy to be able to move on! And then, when he came here looking for her, he didn’t want her to know she had missed him.” Andrew called after them as they walked down the hall toward the living room.

Dawn froze, turning her icy gaze on Spike.

Spike flinched, and turned to glare at Andrew. “You stupid, ignorant ponce!”

“Sorry, Spike!” Wincing, Andrew opened a nearby door and darted through it, apparently deciding an evening spent in the linen closet was preferable to facing their combined wrath.

“Spike?” Dawn struggled to keep her voice from shaking. “You were here looking for  _ Buffy _ ?” She remembered him telling her he had been in Rome, and that Andrew had let him into the apartment, but she couldn’t remember what reason he gave for being there.

“Dawn, you know I’m over her now.” Spike grabbed her hands, and squeezed them reassuringly.

“But that was only a couple of weeks before you were attacked! You were looking for her...you were still in love with her!” Dawn struggled to breath around a sudden tightness in her chest, and leaned against him unconsciously as the room began to spin slightly. He had been in Rome because he was still in love with Buffy. He had come looking for her, to tell her he loved her. Just a few weeks ago...

“Dawn!” His voice jerking her back to the present, Spike squeezed her hands again, and smiled apologetically. “It had far more to do with beating Angel than it did with Buffy. I tried to tell you before, remember? Angel and I have had a bit of a power struggle this last year. He was coming here to pick up some demon’s head, and I just couldn’t let him show up here without trying to explain what happened to Buffy myself.” Dawn stared at him skeptically, and he shrugged sheepishly. “You know Angel and I are complete fucking morons when we both want something. Or even suspect the other wants something...”

Dawn snorted scornfully. “If she had been here, would you have tried to hook up with her?”

“No,” Spike shook his head emphatically. “I just wanted to tell her in my own words why I didn’t tell anyone I was back. I knew if Peaches explained it, I’d come off like a total jackass.”

“Hmm,’ Dawn nodded. “Imagine _ that. _ ”

“Dawn, I wasn’t going to try anything with her. If I was going to do that, I would have done it last year, in Sunnyhell. I just didn’t want her to think I didn’t care enough to tell her I was back!” Faith suddenly stuck her head into the hall, looking at them curiously, and Spike lowered his voice, and grabbed Dawn’s arm, leading her back toward her bedroom. He gave the linen closet door a vicious kick on the way by. 

“You didn’t, though,” Dawn murmured as he pushed her gently into her room.

“What?” Spike closed the bedroom door, but didn’t turn to face her. Dawn could see the tension in his shoulders, the corded muscles there clearly visible. She wondered inanely where his t-shirt had ended up earlier, then spotted it on her bed. 

“You didn’t care enough to tell any of us that you were back!” she yelled, snapping up the shirt, and flinging it at his back. “You were never going to tell us, were you?!”

“I came here to tell you!” Spike spun around, and caught the shirt absentmindedly, the majority of his attention focused on Dawn. 

“You came here to tell  _ Buffy _ !” Dawn glared at him accusingly. “Just like you came here to get  _ Buffy _ to help you after the dragon! I can’t believe I was so stupid!”

“What?! Dawn! No, it’s not like that!” Spike’s face fell, and he rushed toward her, grabbing her hands again. “You think that I’m only with you because I can’t have your sister? You really think that? You know I’m not the type to settle for anyone less than the one I really want!”

“One word for you. Harmony,” Dawn spat out the name in disgust.

“Oh  _ pleeease _ !” Spike snorted scornfully. “That was completely meaningless. It was just sex!”

Dawn stared at him, her eyes nearly bugging out of her head. “That’s supposed to help your case? How?”

Spike rolled his eyes. ”Dawnie,I never cared about Harmony,” He shuddered slightly. “...and I never so much as  _ pretended _ I cared about Harmony. I wasn’t with Dru then, I was drunk off my ass, and she was a good distraction from the suck-fest my life had become. I didn’t have my soul then, I didn’t even have the chip! And I left her for good when I realized I was in love with Buffy. I can’t be with someone when I have feelings for someone else. I’d rather be alone than pretend to feel something I don’t feel, or ignore feelings I do have.”

Dawn narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “So you don’t have feelings for Buffy anymore?”

“I do, but not the ones I used to have.,” He shrugged. “She’s a good friend. And I’m glad I fell in love with her when I did, because I know I wouldn’t have been able to turn my life around if I hadn’t.”

“When did you fall out of love with her?” Dawn sneered at him, but her heart began to beat faster when he smiled warmly at her.

“I’m not sure,” he admitted honestly. “I don’t know how long it dragged on just because I didn’t want to give up and let Angel win,” he confessed meekly.

“You have serious Sire issues.” Dawn rolled her eyes, and he chuckled sheepishly.

“That I do, pet.” He grinned. Growing more serious, he reached up to brush her hair away from her eyes. “You know me, luv. You know that I  _ always _ cared about you, right?” Dawn rolled her eyes again, but nodded reluctantly. “You know people’s feelings can change over time, right?”

“Yeah,” Dawn sighed, reluctantly letting him pull her a little closer.

“I can’t say that I came here thinking that even if Buffy jumped on me, I would never, ever give her another chance. But I sure wasn’t going to do the jumping, you can count on that. And when I opened that door and saw  _ you _ ...I swear, Dawn, I knew I was over Buffy for good, no matter how she begged. Any small chance she might have had was over when I realized that you had grown up on me in the last year or so.”

Dawn frowned at him, slightly confused. “So, you suddenly fell in love with me just because of how I look now?” She gestured scornfully at her body. “Somehow that doesn’t give me any warm fuzzies. I can’t believe I didn’t think about this earlier!” She stepped back slightly, glaring at him.

“Dawn, no!” Spike grasped his head in his hands, tugging on his hair, and stomping his foot frustratedly. “Dammit, how the fuck do I explain this to you so you’ll understand me?”

“I don’t think you-” Dawn began.

“Yes, I can!” he interrupted her. “Sit down!” He pointed at the bed. When she just raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief, he pointed again. “Sit!”

“Fine.” Dawn obeyed him reluctantly, rolling her eyes.

“Okay...here’s the deal. I met Buffy when you were, what, eleven?” Spike asked, pacing back and forth in front of her.

“I don’t know, something like that?” Dawn shrugged.

“Whatever...doesn’t matter. You were just a kid. And I would have ripped your throat out if she had ever given me the chance to.” Spike smiled apologetically. “Sorry, but it’s true.”

“If I had even actually  _ been _ here then.” Dawn rolled her eyes again, and waved for him to continue.

“When I first got the chip in my head, I was still a right bastard. Obsessed with trying to get the damn thing out, or find some way to get around it and kill you lot. Not much potential for romantic relationships there...”

“Is there a point to this?” Dawn sighed.

“Yes,” Spike nodded, a brief flash of uncertainty in his eyes. He stared at the ceiling, his lips moving silently for a moment, before he nodded again. “I may have started a bit too far back...”

“Lucky me,” Dawn drawled, sighing more loudly.

“Dawn.” He frowned. “I fell in love with Buffy when you were 14. That’s the same time you and I started to become friends, right?”

“Yeah, so?” she asked, frowning.

“You were bloody  _ fourteen _ ! I may be a vampire, but I still have principles. I knew you were going to be a gorgeous woman someday, but at that point, you were my only real  _ friend, _ and I really, really loved that I could be myself with you. You never judged me, or held my past against me, although you probably should have. You were sweet, and smart, and funny. If you had been a grown woman at that point in time, you can damn well bet that I would never have given Buffy a second thought. But you  _ were _ still a kid, and I  _ did _ fall for Buffy. I still don’t know why. All she’s ever done is give me a hard time. I think I needed someone to challenge me, back then. I was on the edge of realizing that I could be more than just a stupid vampire who got put on a leash. Not being able to hunt anymore forced me to really think about my choices, and she helped me decide I wanted to be a better man. But a small part of me wanted to be a better man for  _ you _ , too. So I could deserve to have you look up to me like you did.”

“Okaaaay,” Dawn bit her lip. “What’s that have to do with  _ us, _ now?” She waved her hand back and forth between them.

“I changed, when I got my soul. I got it for her, so I could be with her, but once I had it, I saw that she and I didn’t really work.” Spike shrugged. “There were a lot of times, that last year, when I could have tried to get back together with her, but I didn’t, because I knew that it wasn’t right. I will freely admit, however, that I held onto my feelings for her for far too long. She was my safety net. I got the soul for her, so I had to hold on to her, because otherwise...the pain...I wasn’t sure it was really worth it. That whole year was just a complete nightmare, Dawn. No First Evil required for that.”

Dawn sighed sadly. “I know. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry I gave you such a hard time.”

“I’m not. I deserved it, after what I almost did.” Dawn winced, and Spike smiled sadly. “It’s why I got my soul. Because, even with the chip, I wasn’t sure I could keep the demon from trying something like that again. And I would rather die than put any of you in danger.”

“You talk about the demon as if it’s something else living inside you, just like Angel does,” Dawn snorted.

“It’s kind of like...I think vampires do keep a small part of their soul when they’re turned, but the demon is so much stronger that their more rational, human way of thinking gets suppressed. The chip, and Angel’s soul, they let us stop, take a step back, and think about the things we did. After a while, it was like the demon was just this crazy little voice in the back of my mind. It became a lot more pronounced after I got my soul back. It emphasised that division...” Spike shook his head suddenly, waving his hand in front of his face distractedly. “That’s all beside the point. That last year, I was clinging to my feelings for Buffy with everything I had, but not because of Buffy herself. I was just too scared to try to get on with life on my own, and I was too miserable to really invest in anything else going on around me. I was on autopilot. That’s why I let things get to the point where I was willing to die rather than try to pick myself up.”

“You knew the amulet would kill you,” Dawn gasped, feeling like she’d been punched in the stomach.

“I did,” Spike nodded. “I figured if Evil Lawyers R Us gave that amulet to Peaches, it couldn’t do anything too pleasant to the vamp meant to wear it. I just wanted all of you to be safe, and I really didn’t care about me. I was horrified when I thought Buffy might actually stay in that hole with me, at the end. I really didn’t think she cared...that anyone did.”

“Spike-” Dawn protested softly, reaching for his hand.

“It’s okay, Dawn,” Spike smiled reassuringly at her, sitting down beside her. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he continued, “I think dying was the wake up call I needed to get on with my life. When I realized I was back, but that I might get sucked into Hell anyway, it gave me the kick in the ass I needed to finally try to take control again. First, I had to fight to hang on to my second chance...”

“Third, wasn’t it?” Dawn giggled despite herself.

“Shut up.” Spike grinned, poking her in the ribs. “When I finally got my body back, even before that, I found great pleasure in an old pastime...trying to drive Angel batshit. I wanted to tell you all that I was back, but I was afraid that having me back in your lives would go over like a snowstorm on the beach in August. I put off telling you the ‘good news’ because I was afraid deep down that you all might reject me. And I  _ was _ having fun in LA. It was good to be part of a team again, hanging out with Angel.” He looked at her sharply. “But, if you ever tell him I said that, I’ll cut out your tongue.”

“Of course.” Dawn grinned wickedly, then patted him on the thigh. “Don’t worry... I wouldn’t want his head to get any bigger.”

Spike snorted. “Anyway, I found I wasn’t really thinking that much about Buffy, until Angel and I started fighting all the time. He was always putting me down, acting all holier than thou. Because of the prophecy we both wanted.”

“What prophecy?” Dawn interrupted him.

“There’s some ridiculous prophecy about a vampire with a soul becoming human again. Angel’s been panting over it for years. Thinks it’s about him. It probably  _ is _ , I just couldn’t resist giving him a hard time about it, at first. But then, he was so bloody arrogant about it, I really got into trying to beat him. The whole thing with coming here; it had much more to do with all the head-butting between Angel and I than anything else.”

“One of you could become human again?” Dawn cut him off again. “Really?”

“Nah. Angel signed away his rights to it, and the whole race to get the cup of perpetual torment was a total farce.” Seeing her confused expression, he added, “It was just Mountain Dew.”

“Huh?!” Dawn grunted, completely lost. “Perpetual torment?” 

“Never mind,” Spike chuckled. “It’s not important. The point is, me being me, I was obsessed with beating Angel, no matter what the prize.”

“And a few weeks ago, the prize Angel wanted was Buffy?” Dawn asked, finally feeling like she might understand.

“Exactly,” Spike smiled wearily. “Like I told you the night I got here, I gained a bit of perspective when Wolfram and Hart tried to kill us all. Seeing good people die those last few months, especially that last day...it doesn’t matter who’s the best vampire with a soul. It doesn’t matter if Angel gets some stupid girl we used to fight over before we figured out there are more important things in this world to fight for.”

“Hey, that ‘stupid girl’ is my sister,” Dawn grumbled, shooting him a playful glare.

“Sorry, luv.” Spike grinned, obviously anything but apologetic. “After the attack, I realized how stupid I was to waste so much energy fighting with the only family I really have. We were so close before he got cursed,and now we’re both back on the same side again. I should have just been happy to get my Sire back, rather than worrying about who’s carrying the bigger stick, so to speak. When we got here, I was focused on getting him someplace safe before I-”

“Died,” Dawn mumbled, giving in to the urge to wrap her arm around his waist, and lean on his shoulder. 

“Yeah,” Spike whispered. Squeezing her gently, he murmured, “I wasn’t expecting  _ you _ . Blew my bloody mind when I opened that door, expecting to see my sweet little Nibblet, and realized you’d gone and turned into that perfect, gorgeous, intelligent woman I always knew you would be. I thought I was on ‘Candid Camera’ for a minute there. I was almost afraid to talk to you. But then, you hugged me. And we talked, and you were still  _ you _ ...still my best friend. Except you’re an adult now. I’m not sure if I would have been able to flip that switch in my mind from ‘love you like a little sister’ to just plain ‘ _ love you _ ’ if I had spent the last year with you, but the point is, it’s flipped, and it’s not going back. I love you, and all the stupid bullshit I’ve done in the past has got  _ nothing _ to do with  _ us _ now.”

Dawn stared at him, blinking back tears. “Wow.”

“Did that make sense? Do you understand now?” Spike asked, biting his lip.

“Yeah. That...wow,” Dawn mumbled, shaking her head dazedly. 

“Does that mean we’re okay now?” Spike grinned hopefully.

“Wow...” Dawn nodded, smiling somewhat dreamily. “You really love me.”

 


	13. Chapter 13

“I absolutely adore you.” Spike nodded, chuckling quietly. Slipping off the bed, he knelt in front of her, placing his hands on her waist. She parted her legs, and he crawled forward until he could wrap his arms around her. “Was that our first fight?” he asked, peering up at her through his thick eyelashes.

“I wouldn’t say it was much of a  _ fight _ ...” Dawn began.

“If it was our first fight, we get to make up now,” h pointed out, tilting his head to the side slightly, and licking his lips.

“It was our first fight!” Dawn nodded vigorously. “I may be scarred for life.”

“Oh, are you hurt, then? Want me to kiss anything better?” Spike asked seriously, then burst out laughing and rolled his eyes. “Enough of  _ that _ ,” he muttered, then leaned forward, and covered her mouth with his own.

“Mmm,” Dawn murmured agreeably, sucking on his lower lip, then biting it gently, eliciting a low, sexy growl. Running her hands up over his smooth, bare sides, she moved them to his head and buried her fingers in his hair, holding him closer as she deepened the kiss, slowly sliding her tongue into his mouth and wrapping it around his.

Spike groaned loudly, and hesitantly moved his hands to her hips, pulling her closer against him. Dawn moaned happily, and wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer still. She felt a large bulge in the front of his pants, and smiled against his lips. Thrusting her tongue back into his mouth, she licked the side of his tongue, and the insides of his cheeks, distracting him while she removed one hand from his head, and moved it to his thigh. When he was thoroughly engrossed in the kiss, happily sucking on her tongue, and making contented little grunting noises, she moved her hand again. This time, she gently cupped him through his jeans, running her thumb firmly over his length. “Oh god!” he gasped, pulling back slightly. “Dawn!”

Dawn giggled, and began kissing his neck while she stroked him gently through the thin denim. “I love you, Spike.”

“God, I love you, too!” he panted, sliding his hands under the front of her shirt, and slowly up over her stomach. “That feels so good, baby.”

“Touch me,” she whispered softly, stopping the motions of her hand.

‘I  _ am _ touching you.” He tickled her ribs playfully, but then quickly moved his hands further up, cupping her breasts. “God, so perfect.” Dawn moaned, pushing her chest forward into his hands. She slowly released him, and slid her hand up to his waistband. Biting her lip nervously, she undid the button, and pulled down his zipper, carefully reaching in to grasp his bare flesh. “Dawn!”

“Take it off,” she murmured in his ear, and he jerked his head back.

“What?”

“My shirt...take it off!” She giggled, squeezing him gently, and rubbing her thumb over the head of his shaft, exploring the changes in texture as her hand skimmed down to the base.

“Aaah! O-okay!” Spike fumbled for a moment with the shirt before accidentally ripping the flimsy material. “Sorry!” he mumbled, wincing.

“S’okay,” she murmured, sucking  on the side of his neck as she began stroking him firmly from root to tip.

“Oh god!” he growled. His hips began rocking unconsciously with her movements, and he pulled her ripped t-shirt up over her breasts, exposing her to him. “Beautiful,” he breathed, staring at her hungrily. Licking his lips, he bent his headm and flicked the tip of one pink nipple teasingly with his tongue through her bra. 

“Oh, Spike!” Dawn grabbed the back of his head with her free hand, holding him in place as she increased the pace of her other hand. Spike growled deeply, pulled the lace out of the way, and latched onto her breast, sucking hard on the nipple, and flicking his tongue over it, causing her to groan loudly. “Spike!”

“Baby, Dawn, g-god...that’s so...ohh!” He pulled back, gasping loudly when she began flicking her thumb across his tip on every upstroke, and squeezing firmly on the way back down. Dawn noticed with fascination that he had begun producing enough natural lubrication to ease her movements, and bit back a chuckle. “Oh god! Don’t...stop...I’m gonna...Oh!”

“Was that a request to stop, or an order not to stop?” Dawn teased quietly, never faltering in her movements. He moaned wordlessly, and she giggled despite herself. Leaning forward, she licked his ear, and whispered, “Come for me, Spike!”

“Oh! Oh! Daaaaaaawn!” Spike roared loudly, throwing his head back as he came in large spurts all over her hand, the side of the bed, and her stomach. Dawn licked, sucked, and nibbled on his neck, beaming with pride, as he gradually calmed down. 

“Bloody hell...where did you learn how to do that?” Spike groaned, crawling on the bed and collapsing beside her a few minutes later.

“I don’t think we really want to go there, do you?” She giggled, kissing his cheek.

“I don’t know, if we fight about it, are you gonna do that again?” He leered at her. “That was amazing,” he stated seriously, reaching up to stroke her hair again. 

“It was pretty good on this end, too,” Dawn replied, winking. “You’re so sexy when you come. I always knew you would be.” Raising her hand to her mouth, she licked a white droplet from her finger, and hummed happily. “You taste really good, too.”

Spike whimpered, staring at her with wide eyes. “I’m not sure what living in Italy has done to you, but I think I like it!”

Dawn grinned. “Glad to hear it.” Looking down at her stomach she sighed, then used her torn shirt to wipe off the wet, milky globs there before tossing it in the waste basket beside her desk. When she looked back up at Spike, he was gazing at her with an adoring smile on his face. “What?”

“You.” He shrugged. “It’s refreshing to be with a woman who doesn’t play games, and doesn’t have a hissy fit over things like getting a little messy.”

“Why would I get mad over that? I caused the mess!” Dawn snorted, and Spike leaned forward, and kissed her gently.

“I love you, Dawn Summers,” he murmured. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“Really?” He nodded eagerly, and she leaned over and kissed him on the neck before whispering. “You deserve to have someone treat you right. You’re a wonderful man, I can’t believe no one else has recognized that.”

When she pulled away from him, he had tears in his eyes. Wordlessly, he pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. “I-I don’t...that’s...thanks, luv,” he babbled quietly, nuzzling her neck.

Fighting back her own tears, Dawn murmured, “You don’t have to thank me, that’s what girlfriends are for, right?”

“Well, you’re very good at it,” He sniffled once, then let her go and wiped his eyes with his thumbs. “I’m sorry to get so emotional.”

“Don’t be. It’s one of the many things I love about you.” Dawn patted his arm gently, trying to get him to look her in the eyes.

“You’ve got to stop this, or I’m going to totally blow my Big Bad reputation,” he scolded, smiling shyly at her. 

Dawn laughed delightedly. “I promise, your secret is safe with me.” Just then, her stomach growled even more loudly than before.

“Well, I was just about to suggest that it was my turn to return the favor...” Spike ran his eyes down over her body, and licked his lips suggestively, “...but I think maybe we’d better get you something to eat.”

Dawn’s legs quivered from the heat in his eyes, but she sighed, and nodded her head. “It’s getting late; Ennio’s is probably closed.”

Spike grinned, and pulled her to her feet. “Ennio owes us a favor. Faith chased a couple of my ill mannered brethren out of there a couple of nights ago,” he explained with a wink. “I’ll make her call in the order. They’re all probably still up, wanting to talk to you.”

Dawn froze in the middle of pulling a new shirt out of her dresser. “You don’t think they heard us, do you? You were  _ wicked _ loud,” she teased, playfully, pulling the t-shirt over her head.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, and gave her a long, lingering kiss, nibbling and sucking on her lower lip until she was moaning loudly. “Somehow I suspect that I’m not the one who’s going to be giving us away when I get a chance to pay you back, luv.” He smirked as Dawn panted softly, trying to catch her breath.

“You’re evil!” she pouted, sticking out her kiss swollen lip at him.

“Oh, luv, don’t do that, or I’m gonna have to give the neighbors a real show,” Spike warned, bending his head down to lick her lip one last time. “Come on, let’s get you fed!” He grabbed her hand, and they walked out to the living room.

“You can come out now, Andy!” Dawn sang as they passed the closet. They both laughed upon hearing a loud thud in response.

A loud chorus of excited voices nearly overwhelmed Dawn when she entered the living room. Having apparently decided that she’d had enough time to recover from her ‘ordeal,’ Angel and Buffy immediately pulled her away from Spike, pushed her into the nearest chair, and eagerly began asking her questions about how, exactly, she had saved Spike.

“Give the girl a break!” Spike growled, shoving Angel, none too gently, away from her. “For Christ sake, she just woke up!”

“Sounded like she’s got plenty of energy to me,” Angel said, smirking. Dawn glanced at Spike, half expecting him to deck the other vampire, or maybe even gloat about the truth behind Angel’s words. Before he had a chance, Buffy slapped Angel upside the head. Hard.

“Don’t talk about my sister like that! Like you’re one to talk, anyway, Mr. Pot. If Althenea hadn’t given us that sound-proofing spell for your room,  _ you _ would be living in the sewers or something.” Buffy sneered at him, hands on her hips.

Angel chuckled, glanced at Faith, and said, “There  _ are _ hotels in Rome, Buffy.”

“So? None of them would let you two stay for more than one night. You’d scare away the other guests!” Buffy giggled, winking at Faith.

“You two?!” Dawn stared, wide eyed, at Faith, who was smiling slyly, and with uncharacteristic fondness, at Angel. Turning to Spike, she exclaimed. “Ewww! Why didn’t you warn me?”

“Hey! What’re you ‘ewww’-ing about?” Faith protested. Dawn watched in horrified fascination as the brunette slayer sauntered across the room, and put her arms around Angel’s waist. “Studly here is pretty hot, and  _ I’m _ really hot. You obviously don’t have a problem with sexual relations between humans and vampires...” She winked saucily at Spike, who immediately looked away, holding his hand over his mouth in an unsuccessful attempt to hide the smirk Dawn had been expecting since the conversation began. 

“Nah, I was just ‘eww’-ing at the thought of Angel having sex, period.” Dawn grinned playfully at Angel. When he frowned at her, looking slightly hurt, she sighed. “Sorry. That wasn’t funny.”

“Not very, no.” Angel frowned, shaking his head. 

Faith shot Dawn a dirty look, and stretched up on her toes to kiss Angel on the cheek. He smiled slightly, and turned his head to give her a quick peck on the lips, and Dawn suddenly realized it made a strange kind of sense for the pair to end up together. If anyone could keep Angel from getting too full of himself, it was definitely Faith. She made a mental note to ask Spike or Buffy about Angel’s curse. Specifically, why they weren’t all currently skinned, gutted, and hung out to dry. Didn’t Faith wonder why sleeping with her didn’t make Angel a little  _ too _ happy? “Hey, I’m happy for you guys. Really. It’s just kind of squicky to think of  _ anyone _ I know having sex. And it surprised me. I didn’t mean anything by it, honest.” When Angel just shrugged slightly, Dawn sighed again, looking to Spike for help. 

“C’mon, Peaches. You said the same thing about Little Mama and Xan, remember?” He jerked his thumb at Buffy, who immediately put her hands back on her hips, and glared at Angel.

“Gee, thanks, Spike!” Angel quickly moved further away from Buffy, pushed Faith gently out of his way, and turned back toward Dawn. “It’s okay, Dawnie. For the record, the noises coming from your room just now were pretty ‘squicky,’ too. Bleeech!” He shuddered slightly, and wrinkled his nose.

“That’s right!” Spike exclaimed, nodding his head. Dawn exchanged an amused look with Xander, who was now biting his lip, and sputtering softly like he was going to explode. “Hey! Wait a minute...” 

“Can we puh- _ leaze _ stop talking about everyone’s sex lives?” Xander snickered, wiping his eyes after everyone had finally stopped laughing, and Dawn had pulled Spike down into the chair with her, climbing onto his lap to keep him from trying to carry out his threat to ‘show Angel how squicky he could be.’ Whatever the hell  _ that _ meant.

“Yes! Please! Let’s talk about getting something to eat!” Dawn suggested, pouting down at Spike. “You promised!”

“That I did, but I don’t know if Faith’s gonna want to do you any favors, now.” He winked at the dark haired slayer.

“I think we’ve already established that I can’t cook,” Faith chuckled, waving her hands in front of her defensively.

“‘Bit wants Ennio’s,” Spike said pleadingly. “She’s starving to death, poor thing.” He wrapped his arms tightly around Dawn as he spoke, batting his eyes and pouting at Faith. “You know he’ll fire up the stove for  _ you _ , luv.”

“Starving? What about the stuff Xan made for her?” Faith asked worriedly, obviously crumbling.

“Ate it. Wasn’t enough,” Dawn whined, adding her own pouting powers to Spike’s to break down the last of the other girl’s defenses.

“I dunno. You dissed my boyfriend, girl...” Faith glared playfully at her, reaching over to ruffle Angel’s hair.

“Hey, I’ll forgive her if you promise to  _ never _ do that again!” Angel caught her wrist, and pulled her hand away from his hair, bringing it to his lap, where he clasped it gently between his own.

Faith laughed delightedly, and tried to pull her hand free. “I’m going to break you of that gel addiction if it kills me, baby.”

“I know where you sleep,” he replied with a growl, slipping into game face, and snapping at her playfully, keeping a tight hold on her hand.

“Hello? Food?” Dawn interrupted quickly, before they could forget they weren’t alone in the room.

“Yeah, yeah. Fine. What do you want?” Faith rolled her eyes, reaching for the phone.

Dawn clapped her hands happily, and bounced on Spike’s lap. “Eggplant parmesan, and garlic bread. Lots of garlic bread!” 

“Ow! Hey! Watch the goods!” Spike winced, grabbing Dawn’s hips, and holding her down. 

Feeling something pressing against her butt, Dawn bit back a smile, and squirmed against him, eliciting a deep growl. “Sorry, honey,” she crooned, not at all sorry.

“You’ll pay for that, later, luv,” Spike murmured in her ear. Dawn shivered deliciously, and let herself go limp, relaxing back into his arms as she watched her sister try to convince Faith to order enough food to feed the entire building. She wondered if pregnant slayers ate more than normal pregnant women, or if Buffy, herself, was just a pig.

Half an hour after Spike had picked up the food, Dawn decided Buffy’s appetite must just be a slayer thing, because Faith had eaten nearly as much as her sister. Dawn found herself feeling full after eating only half of the extra large order of eggplant parmesan that Ennio had sent for her (along with warm wishes for her to feel better soon). While the others continued eating, she amused herself by sitting on Spike’s lap, and feeding him the remaining portion. He continued to gaze hungrily at her long after the food was gone. “Wanna go back to my room?” 

Spike shivered at Dawn’s whispered words, and she felt the hard bulge in his lap, which had reappeared soon after she climbed back in his lap, twitch before he said, loudly, “Well, I think Dawn should probably get back to bed, don’t you?”

Buffy glanced at her watch. “Dr. Wilcox should be here in a while...”

“What? Why? I’m fine now!” Dawn yelped, jumping to her feet, and glaring at her sister.

“Dawn, you just woke up from a month long coma thingie!” Buffy snorted scornfully. “Did you really think we weren’t going to have the doctor take a look at you?”

“But-”

“We just want to be sure you’re okay,” Xander chimed in, wiping garlic butter from his chin, tossing his napkin on the table, and standing up. “Don’t want you ending up asleep for another month...you snore.” He grinned at her as he put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed gently. “After Dr. Wilcox takes a look at you, and confirms that you’re really fine, we’ll get out of your hair, and you’ll be free to do whatever you want, which I don’t  _ ever _ want to know about, by the way.”

Dawn rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms across her chest. “Fine. That makes sense, I guess.”

“Of course it made sense. I am the all-knowing Xan-man,” Xander declared, puffing up his chest.

“Did you know you have butter on your nose, all-knowing one?” Spike scoffed. The others laughed loudly as Xander swore, and grabbed his napkin again, rubbing frantically at his face. 

“Aw, honey, you just smeared all the butter from the napkin back on your face,” Buffy crooned, trying half-heartedly not to laugh. 

“One moment. I couldn’t just have  _ one _ moment where I was the cool, shining voice of reason?” Xander sighed, shaking his head, and burying his head in his hands.

“Well, you could, but it would probably destroy the line between reality and fantasy, and the universe would collapse,” Angel sighed with mock solemnity. 

“Actually, I think you  used up your powers of super-reasoning when you talked me out of destroying the world,” Everyone spun toward the doorway, where Willow smiled, and waved sheepishly. “I’m back! Sorry it took me so long!”

 


	14. Chapter 14

“Will!” Xander’s jaw dropped, and he moved quickly to wrap his arms around her. “Will, you’re okay?!”

“Where have you been, Wills?” Buffy threw herself at the pair, trying to squeeze herself between her boyfriend and best friend, while they jumped up and down excitedly. “Oh thank god, Willow!” Closing her eyes, she squeezed the redhead tightly. Willow smiled, looking slightly embarrassed, and held her friend close, patting her on the back.

“Red!” Spike grinned and walked over to sling his arm around Willow’s shoulders, leaning over to give her a quick peck on the cheek, just as Angel approached her cautiously from the other side, and patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. “You’ve got to stop disappearing on us like that!”

“Hey, Willow.” The taller vampire smiled warmly at her, and shifted his weight from foot to foot a few times before he muttered, “Oh, hell!” and leaned down to give her a quick hug, and a kiss on the forehead.

“Nice of you to join us, Red” Faith smirked, nodding her head at the redhead. Her eyes glimmered suspiciously as she patted the sofa beside her, murmuring, “Take a load off?”

Dawn smiled at her friend once the others finally released her, and began ushering her toward the sofa. “You came back.”

“I finished what I needed to do,” Willow shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“You know about my coma thingie?” Dawn gasped. “How did you know about that?” She plopped down on the sofa beside Willow, after noticing with amusement that Faith had reached over to pat Willow’s knee the moment she sat down.

“I was with you the whole time,” Willow announced, shrugging. “You’re okay now, so I’m back.”

“You...what?” The others joined in a chorus of confused exclamations. Dawn reached over, and grabbed Willow’s hand, squeezing gently. “Okay, 'splainy, please?”

Willow blushed. “Well, you were the only one who could save Spike. The Powers that Be knew that, so they chose not to interfere with the First’s pathetic little attempt to trick you into killing him-”

“The First?!” Dawn shrieked. “Oh my god, that was the First?!” Jumping to her feet, she looked wildly around the room until her gaze fell on Spike, who had been leaning casually in the doorway. Then, she burst into tears, the room spun wildly, and she felt a pair of strong arms catch her, and ease her back onto the sofa.

"Shhhh,” she heard Angel murmur comfortingly. “It’s okay, just breathe.”

“Get out of the way, Peaches! Let me have her!” The arms disappeared, and were immediately replaced with a more familiar pair, which held her tightly against an equally familiar, hard chest. “Calm down, Dawn.” In contrast to Spike’s calmer tone, which admittedly sounded quite forced, Buffy was yelling in the background. Dawn felt her head swimming dizzily again, and groaned loudly. The First was back? “Oi, Harris, calm her down before she makes Dawnie pass out!”

“Shut the fuck up, Spike!” Xander snapped.

Dawn took a deep breath, braced herself, and pushed away from Spike to scream, “Stop yelling at each other!”

“Dawn, luv, are you okay?” Worried blue eyes bore into her own, and Dawn’s stomach clenched. For a moment, it was all she could do to keep everything she’d just eaten from coming up in her boyfriend’s anxious face. “Luv?”

“It was a trick. He wanted me to kill you!” Dawn groaned, hiding her face against Spike’s neck. He began rubbing her back soothingly, and she took a deep breath. Spike was still there. Spike was okay. She latched on to that fact, and focused on the solid feeling of his body against hers, and his familiar scent, until she was able to control her breathing again.

“I think you’d better explain, Willow,” Angel muttered behind her.

“Ya think?” Faith snorted scornfully. “You’re cute, but sometimes...”

“Faith? Hon...I love you, but shut up!” Angel chuckled, taking the sting out of his words. “Willow?”

“Alright, it’s a kind of long story. Do you guys have any booze?” Willow sighed. Dawn popped her head up, looking at the redhead wearily. “I mean, wine, beer, tequila? Anything?” Willow was looking expectantly at Xander, who sighed, and nodded his head.

“Sit down, hon,” Xander urged Buffy to sit back down on the loveseat they had been sharing. “I’ll go get little Miss Enigma a drink.” He winked at Willow, and headed for the kitchen.

“I think you’d better bring drinks for everyone,” Willow called after him. Xander groaned, and his shoulders slumped. “Fine. I’ll be right back.”

“Go help him, idiot,” Faith snorted, making shooing motions at Angel.

“Do they even  _ like _ each other?” Dawn whispered to Spike after Angel begrudgingly followed Xander into the kitchen.

“You heard him, they’re crazy about each other,” Spike snickered. Nuzzling against her neck, he whispered. “It’s okay, luv. So what if the First tried to trick you? It didn’t work. I’m still here, right?”

“Yeah. But, I did exactly what he told me to do, Spike. I fell for it. I don’t know how you survived, but I nearly helped him kill you,” Dawn whimpered. 

“Okay, I was going to wait until everyone was together, and a bit liquored up, but you need to know this,” Willow murmured and slung her arm around Dawn’s shoulder, ignoring the possessive growl this earned from Spike. “The First isn’t dead, but it’s severely weakened since, you know, we kicked its ass. We didn’t manage to kill it completely, but it’s corporeal now. It can still change its appearance, with difficulty, but it can still only appear as someone who has died. If we can find it, we can kill it, easily.”

“I dunno...it can still make a pretty quick exit, and it does this weird dream thingie, too,” Dawn moaned. She didn’t realize she had begun to shake all over until Spike took her hands in his, gently holding them still.

“The First really has it in for ol’ Spike, here,” Willow chuckled. “It wants him to die, and the rest of us to suffer as much as possible in the process.”

“Does this mean the Mohra blood would have saved me?” Spike asked quietly. Dawn sat up and frowned at him, but he refused to meet her eye.

“Oddly enough, no, it wouldn’t have.” Willow shrugged. “See, this is where things get weird. See...the First  _ knew _ there was a chance that Dawn could actually save Spike, and it was probably hoping that she would, because that could have caused Spike more pain than just dying.” Seeing their blank faces, she chuckled softly. “It turns out there’s actually a prophecy that indicates that the Key would someday ‘sacrifice itself to save its other half.’ Now, a lot of people think that when two people find true love, it’s because their souls are two halves of a whole.” She smiled affectionately at Dawn and Spike. “The two of you  _ are _ soul mates. I can see it in your auras, now that I know to look. Your souls have been linked since the dawn of time, no pun intended. I thought Althenea explained all of this? The Key was never an inanimate blob of energy like we thought...it was actually a conscious, sentient, soul-having entity all along. It was Glory’s slave, until it managed to escape and was sent here.”

“But, I didn’t even come from this dimension!” Dawn protested.

“It doesn’t matter. You were still meant to come together. That might even be why Drusilla chose to turn Spike. I suspect he was born sometime around the time you were sent here, but you hadn’t been made human yet, so he needed to stay alive, uh, somewhat alive, until you were.” Turning to Buffy, she bit her lip and said, “According to the prophecy, Dawn was always meant to save Spike’s life somehow, but she should have died doing so. The Powers that Be chose not to interfere because they saw that the First was trying to convince her to do exactly what she was supposed to do. The First knew she might actually succeed, but that she would certainly die doing so. And wouldn’t that hurt Spike far more than his own death? The First apparently has a better understanding of human emotions than the Powers.”

Spike shuddered violently, and wrapped his arms tightly around Dawn, burying his face against her neck, and nodding his head weakly. “Why?” he muttered, his voice trembling.

Dawn looked at him confusedly, but Willow nodded knowingly. “They...they decided that Dawn is expendable, but that you’re not. You’re a champion, but the Key is a liability, especially after what happened with Glory.”

“That’s bullshit!” Spike bellowed, jumping to his feet, and dropping Dawn on the floor in the process. “They’d just use her like that?! No way! That’s bullshit!” He roared, and kicked the coffee table, which flew across the room, narrowly missing Buffy, and shattered against the side of the kitchen door. “Those rotten bastards!” Growling loudly, he began pacing frantically back and forth.

“Spike! Calm down!” Dawn shrieked, stumbling to her feet, and trying to wrap her arms around him. He ignored her, and continued stomping around the room, muttering under his breath. “Spike, please!”

Meanwhile, Xander and Angel burst through the doorway, Xander still holding a bottle of rum, wielding it upside down in a tight grip, seemingly unaware of the clear fluid dripping down his arm. “What is it? What happened? Who...who killed my coffee table?!” he asked, looking confused.

“The Powers that Be wanted to let Dawn die!” Spike hissed, focusing on Willow, and still ignoring Dawn’s efforts to calm him.

“So...they attacked the coffee table?” Angel frowned confusedly at Xander, who shrugged and lowered the bottle.

“Spike! Dawn’s okay, remember?” Buffy approached the enraged vampire with her hands held up in surrender. “She’s fine! She  _ is _ fine, right?” She turned to Willow questioningly.

“She’s fine,” Willow confirmed. Placing her hand gently on Spike’s shoulder as he passed by, she murmured, “I’m sorry it took so long to bring her back, but she really was supposed to die. She actually  _ did _ die. But that’s when the Lesser Powers decided to step in.”

“You healed her?” Faith chimed in suddenly. “Wicked!”

“Will, maybe it would help if you told us how you know all this,” Dawn suggested, wrapping her arms around Spike, who had finally stopped his pacing right in front of her. He slumped into her embrace, wrapping his arms around her waist with a soft growl.

Willow shook her head, and slapped herself lightly on the forehead. “I’m sorry! I guess it might help if I told you what happened to me.”

“And why the Powers wanted to kill Dawn in the first place,” Angel suggested.

“Don’t forget my coffee table,” Xander muttered, trying to wring out his sleeve.

“Not on the rug, sweetie,” Buffy sighed, patting him on the back.

“The coffee table has nothing to do with it, you git! I’m sorry, I’ll buy you a new one!” Spike grumbled, waving his hand dismissively at Xander.

“I built this coffee table,” The brunet grumbled, rising to his feet, and heading for the wreckage.

“Xander, I’d shut up about the fucking coffee table if I were you,” Faith snickered, looking wearily at Spike, who still looked like he might start demolishing more furniture.

“Spike’s not going to break anything else,” Dawn insisted, backing toward the sofa, and pulling him down with her. “Are you, honey?”

“I don’t plan to, but I can’t make any promises, luv,” he mumbled.

“People!” Angel barked. “Can someone please explain why the PTB would want to kill Dawn?”

“Well, they weren’t going to kill her...” Willow protested. “They were just going to...let her die. That’s not much better, I guess?” She shrugged sheepishly at Dawn.

“I’m not getting any warm fuzzies over the difference,” Buffy intoned dryly.

“Anyhoo...” Willow shook her head slightly, as if to clear her mind. “The Powers knew about the First’s plan to try to get Dawn to heal Spike. It was obviously hoping that either Spike would live, as according to the prophecy, and he would be devastated over Dawn’s death, or that Spike would die, and we’d all turn on Dawn for killing him, thus tearing the group apart.”

“But, if it hadn’t done  _ anything _ , he would have died for sure,” Faith blurted suddenly. “So, why’d it bother?”

“Because the First was looking to inflict the most pain possible,” Willow sighed. “If it let the Powers tell you how to save him, and they would have, we would all know that the information had come from the Powers. So, if either of them died, no one would blame anyone but the Powers. It was probably counting on the Powers ‘need to know’ policy to keep us from finding out who ‘Skip’ really was. By coming to you first, in the form of someone so obviously evil, it hoped that even if, by some miracle,  _ everyone _ made it through alive, there would still be fighting between us, weakening the group so it could make another attempt later.” Willow looked around sternly, obviously daring any of them to have the nerve to prove the First right by giving Dawn a hard time. “Now that we know, it should be fairly easy to kill it if it comes back for more.” Rubbing her head irritably, she moaned. “You know, I’ve had a month to think about all this, and it still gives me a headache.”

“So...um...how is it that you were able to save Dawnie?” Buffy asked softly, smiling affectionately at the redhead.

Yawning loudly, Willow shrugged. “It was Tara. Apparently, she’s earned herself a minor goddess-hood,” The redhead’s tone was casual, but she positively beamed as she continued, “The Powers didn’t care what was going on, beyond wanting their champion to live. But some of the lesser, more compassionate gods recognized the cruelty in saving Spike’s life at the expense of his true love’s. Tara rallied some of the others, but they all knew that the Powers wouldn’t allow any of them to...well...slack off on their responsibilities in order to intervene. They worked together, covering for Tara so she could...uh...descend just long enough to come and warn me. I’m no goddess, but she knew I might be able to bring Dawn back from the brink. She helped me merge with Dawnie, and keep her body alive. I stayed with her for as long as it took for Tara to find and return her soul. Which she just finally managed to do today. She said to tell you she’s sorry it took so long, but she could only search on her time off. Apparently, making sure toddlers don’t break every bone in their body, or burn themselves to a crisp, is really a full time job.”

“Huh?” Buffy snorted.

“Haven’t you ever noticed how little kids almost seem to bounce sometimes? Or heard a parent talk about their kid mysteriously spilling a cup of coffee on themselves, only to have it turn out to be cold when it was hot only a few seconds before? That’s what Tara does now. Apparently, there’s a whole army of minor gods whose sole job is to watch over children.” Willow smiled proudly. “Parents need all the help they can get, you know.” She winked, nodding her head at Buffy’s stomach.

“That’s sweet, but this is ridiculous! The Powers were going to let stuff like that happen right under their noses? And Tara’s a freaking  _ goddess _ ?” Xander laughed loudly. “People don’t just become gods! And why on earth would the First think Dawnie would be  _ stupid  _ enough to fall for a vision from some kind of demon?” Dawn cleared her throat loudly, and he froze. “Uh...I mean...”

“People  _ do _ ascend to godhood,” Angel muttered. “And it probably knew that Dawnie would believe in Skip because she’s not the first perfectly intelligent woman to listen to him.” He glared at Xander as he spoke, his expression making it perfectly clear that the other man would be wise not to say anything more on the subject.

“Oh...o-okay.” Xander raised his eyebrows, and turned questioningly to Willow 

She winked and nodded, then turned to Angel, “That reminds me, Angel...Tara said to tell you Cordy says ‘H,’” She smiled softly as the vampire bit his lip and  quickly covered his eyes, looking like he was going to cry.

“Thanks,” he mumbled several seconds later, his voice slightly strained. Faith looked sideways at him, then reached up to pull him down beside her.

“So, lemme get this straight,” Spike growled. “There’s a prophecy that the Key would die to save its...her soul mate. Me. The Powers  _ knew _ that the First was out to hurt me in whatever way it could, but they didn’t so much as send me a memo to warn me about it, because they were planning to let Dawn, my soul mate, die to save me. And they expected me to just...what...get over it? So, if it weren’t for you and Glenda, Dawnie would have died for me? Is that right?”

“Uh...y-yes,” Willow nodded, cringing slightly.

Spike narrowed his eyes at her, studying her silently for several minutes as Dawn exchanged nervous glances with Buffy. Xander quickly left his spot near the broken table, and moved, rather conspicuously, to sit on the hand carved wooden table beside his favorite chair. Faith and Angel looked at each other, and also moved to sit on other small tables around the room. “Hmmm,” Spike murmured finally. “Yeah, that sounds like them, the bastards.” Shaking his head slightly, he turned to Dawn and said, “I don’t know about you, but I’ve had about enough of this shit for one night. Wanna hit the sack?”

“But, Spike, there’s more-” Willow began.

“Not now, Red,” he snapped, standing up, and pulling Dawn to her feet. “Right now, I just want to be with Dawn, okay? Whatever else you want to tell me can wait until morning.” 

“But-” Willow sputtered, jumping to her feet as well. “It’s about the Shanshu prophecy. Tara said you know about it. Apparently, the copy Angel got was a fake...Wolfram and Hart made sure you guys never saw the real thing.”

“Not tonight!” Spike snarled, morphing for a moment, and snapping angrily at the startled redhead.

“B-but,” Willow’s voice was strained, and she looked frantically at Angel, who was now on the edge of his seat. “I really think you should hear-”

“I said...” Spike leaned into Willow’s personal space and bellowed, “ _ Not tonight _ !”

Willow stumbled backwards, until Buffy caught her and wrapped a comforting arm around her, and stammered, “Uh, okay, then. Don’t say I didn’t try to warn ya!” 

Dawn raised her eyebrows, and glanced at Xander, who shot a goofy ‘what the hell?’ look at her from his place on the end table. “Uh, good night, guys!” She called over her shoulder as Spike suddenly dragged her into the hallway.


	15. Chapter 15

Dawn followed Spike in silence as he led her toward her...no...it was  _ their _ bedroom now. It was about damn time...

Spike, however, didn’t seem to agree. As soon as he closed the door behind them, he let go of her hand, and strolled toward the bed. Completely ignoring her, he jerked the covers back, and laid down, rolling on his side to face the wall. “Spike?” Getting no response, Dawn sighed, and crossed the room, crouching in front of the surly vampire. “Spike! Talk to me! Are you mad?”

“Not mad, luv. ‘M just tired,” Letting out an insultingly fake yawn, he rolled onto his stomach, turning his head away from her.

Putting her hands on her hips, Dawn growled. “I can’t believe this! You’re mad at me!”

“I’m not...I’m not mad at  _ you _ , anyway. I’m mad at the fucking universe,” Spike growled into the pillow.

Rolling her eyes, Dawn climbed on the bed, straddling his hips. “Spike, come on. This is stupid.”

“It’s stupid for me to be upset that you almost died? Am I not supposed to be upset that I almost lost you, before I ever really had you?” he grumbled into the pillow.

“Had me?” Dawn giggled nervously. 

“I don’t mean like  _ that _ ,” Spike chuckled, rolling over, and lightly grasping her hips. “I mean, we haven’t really had all that much time together, yet.”

“Spike, I know exactly how you feel,” Dawn murmured, leaning over, and resting her elbows on his chest, chin on her hands.

“You do?” he asked with a slight smirk.

“Of course I do, you idiot!” Dawn snorted. “Did you forget that immediately before  _ I _ almost died,  _ you _ almost died? How do you think  _ I _ felt?”

“Like you wanted to scream, and rip your own heart out?” Spike smiled sheepishly, finally relaxing beneath her.

At his words, Dawn shuddered, and let out a soft whimper. “Oh god,” she sobbed into his chest, “I did...I di...”

“Hey...hey, what’s wrong?” Spike sat up, hugging her tightly, and nuzzling the side of her neck. “Dawn?”

Dawn pulled away slightly, staring at him in horror as memories of his healing rushed through her mind. “You...you don’t remember any of it?”

Spike frowned thoughtfully, then his eyes widened. “Oh. You...no, I don’t remember. I only remember falling asleep, looking at your pretty face.” He smiled softly, and brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. “The next thing I knew, I woke up, covered in dust, with Faith and Peaches leaning over me. You were on the floor, with Buffy trying to wake you up, her belly out to here...” He tried to hold his hand out several inches in front of his stomach, but bumped into Dawn and chuckled. “I had no idea what had happened, but my stomach didn’t hurt anymore. And I knew that you had saved me, somehow.” He shrugged casually, and slid his hand up into her hair. “I’m not mad at you, pet. I just can’t stand the thought that I almost lost you.” 

“Ditto,” Dawn murmured, ducking her head, and rubbing her face on his shoulder. He chuckled, and gently ruffled her hair. After several minutes of comfortable silence, she raised her head, and grinned. “So...we’re alone. And, I don’t think anyone’s going to risk getting on your bad side tonight.”

“Yeah,” Spike snickered. “What are you saying?” he murmured, gently stroking the flesh along the bottom edge of her scoop necked t-shirt.

“I’m saying I changed my mind about sticking to minor misdemeanors. I just want to be with you, and it’s stupid to wait some arbitrary amount of time for...what...for me to be even more in love with you? I don’t think it’s possible.” She leaned forward, and rubbed her nose against his, then kissed him gently on the lips.

“Are you sure?” Spike reached up, and caressed her cheek, staring into her eyes. Whatever he saw there apparently met with his approval, because he smiled after a few moments, tucking his tongue behind his front teeth, and nodding eagerly. “Okay, luv.” 

“I’ve never done this before, but I think maybe we’re a little overdressed,” Dawn giggled, reaching down to grasp the hem of his t-shirt, and struggling to pull it off. “C’mon, take it off!”

Spike stared at her for a moment, looking as if he couldn’t believe what was happening to him, then grinned wickedly, and yanked the shirt over his head, dropping it on the floor beside the bed. Lying back against the pillows, he looked up at her silently as she carefully studied his chest and torso. To her relief, she could barely make out the faintest trace of a scar from the dragon’s attack. She reached out, and traced the pale white circle with the tip of her fingernail, and he shivered. Scooting back a bit, she leaned down, and kissed the faint mark, flicking her tongue over the slight indent there.

“Dawn,” Spike moaned, reaching up again, and stroking her hair gently. Dawn smiled, and trailed her tongue up to his left nipple, flicking the tiny, hardened nub playfully before closing her mouth around it, and sucking lightly. “Oh god, Dawn! I really...that’s so good.” 

Dawn realized he was letting her take control, and her heart swelled with gratitude. Taking his not-so-subtle hint, she sucked harder on his nipple while she brought her hand up to lightly pinch the other. Spike moaned loudly, his head fell back against the pillows, and she felt a jolt of arousal shoot through her at the sight of him writhing in pleasure. “Mmm,” She hummed around his flesh, and then bit down gently.

“Oh god!” His head shot up, and he whimpered loudly before going limp beneath her.

“You really like that, don’t you?” Dawn whispered, looking up at him, and bringing her other hand up to replace her mouth, pinching and rubbing both of his nipples while she watched him intently.

“Yes.” He smiled down at her dazedly. 

“Why don’t you get them pierced?” she asked, pinching them harder.

Spike moaned loudly, and began panting. “Because my fucking head would explode, and I’d never get...oh god...anything done...other than sitting around playing with them?”

“Good reason,” Dawn giggled, and lowered her head to suckle the right one for a few seconds before pulling back again so she could admire his sleek, hard muscles. Trailing her fingertip down over his perfect abs to the button of his jeans, she said, “Spike?”

“Yeah?”he asked faintly, lifting eyes that were so heavily dilated they were nearly black to look at her face. He looked like he’d been drugged, and she barely suppressed a moan at the obvious effect she had on him.

“I really like you in tight denim. But..” She quickly undid the button, and gazed pointedly at him.

“Oh.” Spike blinked. “Yeah. Right.” He reached down, and yanked down the zipper, then braced himself, and raised his hips a few inches.

“Good boy,” Dawn smiled sweetly at him, then grasped both sides of the pants, and pulled them over his hips, then down his legs, removing them completely, along with his socks. She thanked her lucky stars he hadn’t put on his Docs that day, since she was pretty sure she wouldn’t have been able to deal with untangling his laces at that particular moment. Suddenly, it hit her that this was  _ Spike _ ...she had just undressed the man of her dreams. She laughed giddily at the surrealness of it all.

“Uh, not the reaction I was hoping for, pet,” Spike spoke up quietly. 

Dawn’s eyes shot to his face,and found him looking anxiously at her. Realizing she had just laughed after removing his pants, she smiled reassuringly at him. “Oh, no, I wasn’t laughing at  _ you _ . I was just laughing because I’m crazy! I haven’t even looked at it yet.” As she spoke, she lowered her gaze to his lap, and swallowed hard at the sight of his hard, pale cock, jutting upwards from a nest of dark curls. The foreskin was pulled loosely back from the pinkish head, which was already oozing a few pale drops of fluid. “Wow!” She breathed. “I never saw one that wasn’t circumcised before.”

“And just how many have you seen that  _ were _ ?” Spike grumbled, squinting at her suspiciously. She worried for a moment, until she saw the mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Biology class, Spike. You’re the only naked man I’ve seen up close and personal,” She giggled, “The only other guy I’ve seen in real life, at all, was Xander, and  _ that _ was just a horrible accident! You’re definitely a lot sexier.” She smiled shyly at him, and he beamed at her in return. Scooting further up his body, she pulled his head down to kiss him passionately, and he immediately wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. As they proceeded to kiss tenderly for several minutes, Dawn was vaguely aware of their soft gasps and moans filling the room, but wasn’t sure who was making which sounds. Finally, she couldn’t wait any longer to feel his soft, silky skin against her own. Pushing away from him abruptly, she stood up, and stepped away from the bed.

“What’s wrong?” Spike asked, looking worried again, and reaching for her.

Dawn shook her head at him, and waved a finger at him warningly for good measure. “Stay there,” she ordered gently, then reached for the hem of her t-shirt. She purposely pulled it off as slowly as possibly, then looked down at his face. Biting her lip nervously, she waited as he stared at her for several seconds without speaking.

Finally, he reached for her again, growling softly, “Come ‘ere...”

“Not yet.” She shook her head playfully, and slowly ran her hands down over her stomach to the waist of her shorts. Before she could even begin to pull them down, Spike moved in a sudden blur of speed. The next thing she knew, she was flat on her back on the bed in nothing but her bra and underwear, with a very aroused vampire looming over her. “Jeez! Impatient much?” she giggled.

“Tease much?” he shot back playfully.

“I wasn’t teasing!” she protested. “I was trying to be sexy for you.”

“You would be sexy blowing your nose, pet.  _ That _ was teasing!” He grinned. Reaching down, he ran his finger under one of the straps of her bra. “This is nice,” he purred. 

“Yeah?” Dawn swallowed hard. “I know you like red.” 

“I do like red,” he agreed. Leering at her, he added huskily, “But I think it would look better off.” Dawn nodded, and he immediately reached for the front clasp, and quickly removed the tiny garment. Dawn laid beneath him, trying not to fidget as he stared hungrily at her breasts. Finally, he let out a low growl, and lowered his head to suck her right nipple into his mouth.

“Oh god,” Dawn moaned as he ran his tongue over the tip, sending delicious shivers throughout her body. She was sure that by now there was a very obvious wet patch on the front of her panties, and she pressed her legs together. 

As if reading her mind, Spike slid his right hand down over her stomach, cupping her mound through the thin fabric. “Baby, you’re so wet already,” he mumbled against her breast. Raising his head to look her in the eye, he  quietly asked, “Can I taste you?”

Dawn blushed, her heart jumping in her throat. “I, uh, if you want to. You don’t have to.”

“Oh, I want to. I definitely want to.” He smiled warmly at her, and began kissing his way down across her stomach. Hooking his thumbs in the sides of her panties, he slid them down and off, flinging them over his shoulder. Gently pushing her legs apart, he knelt between them, and gently stroked the palm of his hand over her soft curls. Looking up at her, he caught her eye again, and said, “You’re so beautiful, luv.”

Dawn stared down at him, kneeling naked between her thighs, and her heart skipped a beat. Or three. From this angle, she could just barely see the head of his cock, peeking out at her from between his legs, and the sight made her moan loudly. She felt a small trickle of fluid running down her thigh, and gasped loudly.

“Christ, you’re wet,” Spike purred huskily. Lying down between her legs, he eagerly licked his way up her thigh, gathering the drops that had just escaped her, and growled softly. “You taste like peaches.” He grinned up at her cockily. “Too bad that name’s already taken.” He winked.

Dawn just stared, wide eyed, at him until he lowered his head again, and gently licked the wet folds of her sex, spreading her open with his tongue. She’d never felt anything so good in her entire life, and she suddenly worried that she might actually pass out from the overwhelming sensation before they got to the  _ really _ good part. “Oh God!” Just then, he flicked his tongue over her clit, and her hips jerked up, completely of their own volition. 

“Shh, try to stay still, luv,” Spike murmured, gently grasping her hips, and holding them down as he proceeded to twirl his tongue around her clit, and then sucked it gently into his mouth.

“Ohhhh! Spike! God!” Dawn whimpered, burying her fingers in his hair, trying to keep herself from pulling on the soft curls in her hands. She felt surges of pleasure shooting through her body as he continued to lick and suck her gently. Then, he slowly slid one long, slender finger inside her, moving it around slightly and eventually scraping his nail gently over a spot inside her that made the world disappear in a flash of white light. Her body thrashed wildly, as the most intense orgasm she had ever experienced ripped through her. She was vaguely aware that she was screaming, and that her back had arched so hard that her weight was resting only on her feet and shoulders.

When her vision finally returned to normal, she found Spike lying beside her, with an extremely cocky smile on his face. “You all right, luv? I think you might have passed out for a second there.”

“I was afraid of that,” she giggled, fanning herself with her hands. “That was...God, how did you do that? I thought the whole g-spot thing was a myth!”

Spike grinned, and wiggled his fingers at her. “Long fingers...good for something. Wish I could tell all those gits I knew growing up who used to tease me for having ‘womanly hands.’”

Dawn snickered. “There’s nothing womanly about  _ you _ .” Reaching down, she gently grasped his erection, flicking her thumb over the slit at the top, and smearing the drop of pre-cum there over his cool, silky skin. “Oh yeah, you’re definitely all man.” 

Spike closed his eyes, hissing in pleasure as she stroked her hand lightly up and down his shaft. “Pet, vamp stamina only goes so far. You’ve got to stop doing that if you want to move on...” He trailed off, opening his eyes, and looking at her questioningly. “I mean...we don’t have to. But...do you still want to?”

Dawn let go of him immediately, and spread her legs wide. “I really, really do.” She tugged gently on his shoulder, and he rolled onto his stomach, and then moved on top of her. When he hesitated for a moment, she mumbled. “Hey,you don’t have to worry about hurting me. It  _ is _ my first time, but, uh...” She trailed off blushing. “Look...Buffy was worried about the healthcare system here. I think she thinks Italy is a third world country or something. So she made me go to the dentist, and eye doctor, and get a complete physical before we moved here. Apparently, I already broke...you know...it probably happened from all that getting thrown around back in Sunnydale.” 

Kneeling between her thighs, he chuckled softly, and said, “I get it, luv. I should warn you, though...I’ve heard a girl’s first time can still be kind of uncomfortable.” He smiled ruefully. “Just let me know if you need me to stop, okay?”

Dawn looked down as he took himself in hand, and swallowed nervously. She didn’t have much to compare to, but it did look kind of big. “Um, just go slow,” she mumbled, licking her lips.

“Okay.” He smiled affectionately at her, and kissed her softly on the lips. As he teasingly licked and nibbled on her lower lip, he stroked her slit a few times with the head of his cock before he began gently pushing inside her.

Dawn hissed as her inner walls seemed to stretch to the limit around the head of his shaft. “Ah!” A small yelp escaped her as the burning pain reached its peak, when he was about halfway in.

“Are you okay?” Spike froze, looking down at her worriedly. A moment after he stopped moving, her muscles seemed to relax, and the pain soon dissipated.

“Yeah.” She nodded encouragingly, taking a deep breath. “Keep going.” She sighed with relief when he managed to slide in the rest of the way easily, burying himself deep inside her. “Oh god!” She moaned loudly, clenching around him. “Oh my god, that feels good.” She stared at him in amazement. If she’d known this was what she was missing...

Spike stared back at her, an adorable, goofy grin on his face. Suddenly, he began pressing soft kisses all over her cheeks and forehead. “I love you, Dawn. I love you so much. You’re like a dream come true. All I ever wanted was  to find someone like you.” When he finally lifted his head to look down at her, she saw tears in his eyes, and found herself blinking back tears as well.

“I love you, too,” she whispered, her lower lip trembling slightly. Running her fingers through his hair, she pulled his head back down, and kissed him tenderly on the lips. He wrapped his arms around her, and lowered his head to her shoulder, then slowly pulled out of her. “Oh god.”

The smooth slide back in seemed to set her body on fire, and she moaned loudly, thrusting her hips up to meet him before he backed out again, and slowly pushed back in. Spike grunted softly, and immediately retreated once again, more quickly this time, and thrust back in. “Oh god!” He groaned into her neck when she experimentally tightened around him. He began thrusting faster, and then added a slight twist of his hips, rubbing his pubic bone against her clit.

“Spike!” Dawn moaned loudly, wrapping her legs around his waist to give him better access. She began trying to clench around him on every out stroke, and both of them were soon gasping and moaning loudly. She couldn’t believe how wonderful it felt to have him inside her like this. The friction was sending completely unexpected shock waves of pleasure through her with every stroke. On every third or forth stroke, he would twist his hips again, stimulating her clit, and she quickly felt the tightness in her abdomen that she knew signaled an approaching orgasm. “Oh god! Don’t stop!” she whimpered loudly, grabbing his hips, and squeezing her eyes shut, nearly overwhelmed by the sensations rushing through her body.

Spike growled loudly, and began thrusting harder, grunting with every stroke. :I have to...I can’t...I’m gonna come,” he muttered breathlessly. After a few more deep thrusts, he howled loudly, and drove himself even more deeply inside her, ramming the tip of his cock against the spot inside her that made her see stars. She screamed wordlessly, and dug her fingernails into his flesh as her inner walls clamped down around him. Spike screamed even more loudly, and went rigid, his hips pumping erratically against her as she felt cool fluid flooding her. The sensation of his release filling her pushed her the last little bit she needed; she shrieked loudly, and came harder than she had ever imagined possible, wave after wave of pleasure crashing over her until she began to wonder if she would ever actually  _ stop _ coming. Finally, Spike collapsed limply on top of her, his shaft already softening slightly inside her, and she slowly calmed down, her inner muscles twitching weakly a few more times before her body finally relaxed.

“H-holy sh-shit!” Dawn mumbled weakly, too exhausted to even move her arms and embrace him. She settled for weakly waving one hand toward his side, and he jerked slightly.

“Tickles,” he complained sleepily, and they both chuckled softly. After a few minutes, he managed to lift his head slightly, gazing down at her adoringly. “I...that was...it’s never, ever been like that. I never felt like that before...” He sighed with frustration. “I don’t even know how to tell you...”

Dawn found herself fighting back tears once again. Finally regaining control over her arms, she reached up to stroke his cheek. “I understand. I love you, Spike.”

His face softened, and he smiled warmly at her. “I love you, too. So much.” Groaning slightly, he pulled out of her, and moved to lay down beside her, pulling her into his arms. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’m never letting you go.”

“That works pretty well with my plan to stay here, like this, forever,” Dawn giggled, kissing his neck before resting her head on his chest.

“Glad that’s settled then,” he chuckled. Stretching his legs, he groaned loudly. “Jesus, I must be getting old.” Whimpering slightly, he reached up, and laid his arm across his forehead, covering his eyes.

“I wore you out!” Dawn laughed. Pushing herself up on her elbows, she grinned mischievously at him. “Wow, I’ve never seen you break a sweat before.” She playfully dipped her head to lick his chest.

“I don’t sweat, luv,” Spike snorted, then yawned loudly.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot you were a Victorian gentleman,” Dawn teased. “Thou hast perspired...eth.” she giggled, licking him again. 

“I don’t perspireth either,” Spike mumbled, opening one eye, and glaring playfully at her. 

“Okay, fine, it must be mine then. All through your hair, even. My sweat defies gravity,” Dawn laughed, running her fingers through his hair, which was now a mess of damp curls.

“Why not? Other parts of you certainly do,” Spike chuckled, reaching over, and pinching her right nipple.

“Ow! Hey!” Dawn pouted, smacking him gently before lying back down, and snuggling against him. 

“Sorry, pet,” Spike mumbled, then yawned again. “Sleepy...”

“Well, since it turned out the g-spot is real, I should have known you’d really pass out as soon as it was over, too,” Dawn mock grumbled, nuzzling his neck, and then yawning herself. 

“I don’t usually.” Spike slid out from under her, rolling on his side, and pulling her back against his chest as he curled himself around her. “Must be all the excitement.” He yawned extremely loudly, and Dawn chuckled.

“Just go to sleep, sweetie.” She yawned again. “Damn, you’re contagious.”

“Mmhmm,” Spike mumbled, burying his face in her hair, and letting out a happy sigh. Moments later he let out a soft snore, and Dawn smiled sleepily.

“Love you, Spike.” She yawned one last time, and let her eyes drift shut. Just as she was about to fall asleep, there was a muffled shout from the hallway, and her eyes immediately shot open. Turning slightly, she reached back, and put her hand on Spike’s shoulder. “Spike?”

“Mmm,” he hummed, rolling onto his back and smacking his lips. “Thirsty....”

“Spike, no, there’s something going on.” Dawn sat up, and glanced at the door. It sounded like Faith was either laughing or crying. Then, she heard the distinct sound of Willow and Buffy’s patented ‘happy girlie shriek,’ followed by a deep chuckle. Xander? “What the hell are they doing out there?”

“I dunno, but s’a little cold in here,” Spike complained, groggily. 

Dawn looked down at him, and frowned. Leaning over the side of the bed, she snagged his t-shirt, and pulled it on to ward off the slight chill from the apartment’s air conditioning on her damp skin. “What are you complaining about?  _ You _ never get cold,” she muttered, tugging the blankets up to his chin, anyway. On a whim, she reached up, and felt his forehead. “Shit!” His head didn’t feel hot, exactly, but he seemed a bit warmer than usual. “Spike?!” She shook his shoulder gently. “Do you feel sick?”

He opened one eye, and looked at her for a second before it fell shut again. “Not really. I’m fine. Tired. And thirsty.” He shrugged, and pulled the covers closer to his chin. “I think someone turned the air conditioning down too much, too.”

Dawn sighed. “It  _ is _ kind of chilly in here. I’ll go turn the thermostat up a bit.” Standing up, she looked around the room for her underwear, and laughed when she found them hanging off the back of her desk chair. After putting them on, she turned off the overhead light. and slipped into the hallway. After stopping at the thermostat, which was on the wall beside the entrance to the living room, she stuck her head into the darkened room. No one seemed to be there. Then, she noticed that the lights were on in the hall bathroom, which was slightly open, and in Angel and Faith’s room, which was closed. Muffled, but urgent voices were coming from the latter. 

Moving closer, Dawn peeked into the bathroom, and frowned. Angel was standing at the sink, leaning heavily on the marble countertop, and staring blankly at the wall, or...no...at the mirror? “Angel, what are you doing? Are you okay?”

“How’s Spike?” He asked abruptly, turning toward her with a huge smile on his face.

Dawn blushed. “Uh, sorry...did we...uh...disturb you?”

He blinked for a second, then smiled even wider, shaking his head. Seeing him smile so much was really starting to give her the creeps. “No...I meant...you know...how’s he handling it?”

“How’s he handling what?” Dawn muttered, and took a cautious step closer. “Are you drunk or something? Where’s Faith?”

“Oh. My. God...you guys didn’t even notice, did you?” Angel chortled loudly, and reached out, grabbing her arm.

“Hey! What’re you-” Dawn slapped at his hand, and tried to get away as he pulled her to his side. “Let go of me, you freak!”

“Look!” Angel pointed delightedly at the mirror. “Willow tried to tell you guys! It was about both of us! Something about finally finding true love. We both had to...oh, never mind. Look! See?” He pointed at the mirror again, shaking her arm excitedly.

Dawn turned her head slowly, and screamed. 

Just before she hit the floor, she heard running footsteps in the hall, and Spike yelling, “Anyone care to explain why I’ve suddenly got a bloody pulse?!”

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously, I don't own any of the characters, and am making no profit from writing it!


End file.
